Monthly baby photos

Before Scarlett was born, I knew I would want to take a monthly picture of her to document her growth. There are so many cute ideas out there! It was easy to find so many adorable ideas since Nicole at Chic & Cheap Nursery compiled a list of her favorites, as well as some great ideas at Babble.

The felt letters really intrigued me because it seemed really easy, which is very important for me, and not many items would be needed. The only drawback was that I would need to sew. Yes, I know that is the easiest sewing project ever and I would have been able to do it, but I just didn't want to. Instead I just stopped after making and cutting out one layer of the felt letters. They are not professionally cut since I don't have a die cutter or a cricket or any letters to trace. I just had to free hand it and you can see in the imperfections, but I kind of like it like that. Now if only I could take the pictures during the day instead of at night...

Living life

The other day I was feeling bad about getting so behind on blogging. I felt overwhelmed at all the things that I needed to post and mad at myself for letting so much time pass without posting. Then I read my talented friend Janine's blog post about the "things that matter most". It came at the perfect time for me. I realized that I didn't need to feel bad for falling behind on my posts because what is most important to me is that I spend time with my children. Not just time, but what I call "real" time. Time without a cell phone, ipad, or computer screen in sight. Quality time taking in those sweet smiles and silly faces, really listening to the smart and hilarious things that come out of my almost 3 year old's mouth, and hanging on to every coo and chubby cheeked smile from my 2 month old. In other words "living life" as Janine so perfectly puts it. With the tragic events in Colorado this past weekend, I only feel more strongly about this subject of making sure we are spending quality time with our loved ones. While I love blogging and keeping a record of my life, I don't feel so bad that I can only blog in the evening resulting in me posting 5 posts all at once. I'm not saying you shouldn't blog daily, because if you are able to do that I think that makes the record much more complete. I'm simply trying to say that I am learning to balance my life and this is what it means for me.

Read her whole post here because its just something that we can never be reminded of too much.

This is just one of those beautiful everyday moments, and I just don't want to miss these kinds of things.

She

Please excuse my absence on this blog. I had my 2nd baby and have just been loving
this time to get to know this new little girl and figure out how this whole family of four thing works.
Here is my sweet little Scarlett

While I was in Dental Hygiene school, my husband gave me a book. This book was titled "She" and it saved me. That sounds dramatic, but during that time of becoming a new mom and being in a rigorous school program I definitely had some ups and downs.

This book reminded me that I was special and it gave me strength 

to try harder, 

to be better, 

to keep going.

It reminded me that someone loved me.

It reminded me that I love being a woman.

It reminded me that I love being me!

I had forgotten about the book, but recently came across it again.

It was so refreshing to read, and the colors just seemed to brighten my day.

It would definitely make a great gift for a friend, but make sure you get one for yourself too!
Find it here!

The Lower Lights {giveaway} CLOSED

Have you heard of The Lower Lights?

If you haven't then you're missing out.

They are a group of over 20 muscians and artists (including Mindy Gledhill 

and Brooke White) who came together to sing traditional hymns in a new way.

They put out their first album in 2010, then a Christmas album last year, and now

they have a brand new album!

I was so thrilled to receive a "sneak peak" album from Sarah Wiley last week.

You won't want to miss out on this edition!

It includes beautiful folk and bluegrass renditions of traditional hymns 

as well as some classic country songs

(Hank Williams' "I Saw the Light" and "Calling You" 

and the Louvin Brothers's classic "The Christian Life")

and more! 

I had this album playing in my bedroom and my 2 yr old, Liv, came in 

and started dancing on the bed! 

I love that I can listen to these songs on any day of the week and not just Sunday.

I love that I can dance and have fun with my daughter while listening

or just sit quietly and let the music fill and uplift me.

Music can speak to me in a way that words alone can't.

That's why I love The Lower Lights, and that's why 

you'd be doing yourself a favor to check them out too! 

You can purchase either the digital (download only) version, or 

the physical CD (which also comes with the digital download). 

If you purchase either version from here you'll receive 6 bonus tracks too!

**GiVeAwAy** is now CLOSED

The Lower Lights have graciously offered to give this new album to one of you for free!

If you'd like that person to be you (and trust me, you do), leave a comment!
Go ahead and leave another comment on my personal blog for an extra entry!

Winner will be chosen and announced on Monday, July 9th (1 week from today)

The Lower Lights // I Saw The Light from The Lower Lights on Vimeo.

The Lower Lights provided me with a copy of their new album for purposes of providing a review. 

I am not paid for sales of this album and the opinions expressed on this blog are my own.

A Slip Shop

Have you heard of 'A Slip Shop'?

A few of my friends own this little etsy shop and can I be the first to say I'm so thankful for it! I own a few dresses that are just a hair too short for me to wear and be comfortable in. Especially when I know I will be chasing a busy toddler and/or bending over to pick up dropped gold fish. Thanks to this slip shop I can just wear a slip and all problems are fixed! With summer right around the corner and the heat and humidity that are bound to engulf this area, my game plan is to wear a lot of dresses. Thanks to these slips, it is a lot easier to shop for dresses since the length is more "negotiable" than when I didn't know these slips existed. They have a ton of really cute slips and several different colors. I'm sure you can find just what you're looking for.

Book Club: Tea Party

Last month's book club read was titled Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

Because the story takes place in England, there was quite a bit of talk about tea time.

The cute hostess this month decided to have a tea party for this month's book club discussion!

People brought tea cups and kettles and we had several choices of herbal tea to choose from (all were caffeine free of course). It was a really fun way to "spice up" book club and do things a little differently.

With the tea we had English scones with jams, butter, and whipped cream; veggies and dip; crackers and cheese ball; cake balls; and of course the bundtinis from "Nothing Bundt Cakes". Delish!

I totally recommend this book for your book club. It is different (written in the Gothic style) but so intriguing and has several plot twists along the way. Once I made it through the first 2 or 3 chapters I was hooked and ended up reading it in 4 days. I think Du Maurier is a wonderful writer and I enjoyed the imagery (although sometimes it was a bit much) and her passionate writing. I don't think it is necessarily one that you will learn life's lessons from, but it just such a fun and suspenseful read! I can't really tell you too much about the book because of that, but give it a chance! It made for a wonderful discussion.

Sore throat soother

I haven't been feeling well for the past week with cold like symptoms. I've never liked to take medicine anyway, but I am pregnant so even when I'm desperate for some sleep and relief from the congestion I have no options as far as medicines go.

My daughter, Liv, seemed to be having the same symptoms as me and when I took her to the doc he said it was simply allergies. My doc said the same about my symptoms. What?! I've never had allergies before, so this was news to me. Also news to me: allergies can cause an awful wheezing cough. I got the okay to use Claritin, but the most relief has come from my homemade concoction of hot water, honey, and lemon. I've used this remedy for a sore throat for years now, but I thought I'd share it with you in case you haven't heard of it yet. It is so tasty and has always helped relax and soothe.

Hot Honey/Lemon Drink

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp honey

1 cup of hot water

Pour the hot water over the lemon and honey. The hotter the better when soothing a sore throat.

You are free to alter those measurements to your own taste. I always end up using a little more lemon juice than that because I love that flavor. I've also heard of adding ginger root, but I have never tried it with ginger root so I don't feel qualified to recommend it. For those that have tried this drink, have you tried it with ginger root? Any other yummy or soothing homemade concoctions I should know about?
Next time you feel that tickle in the back of your throat, try this if you haven't already!

Oh baby!

Happy Monday! This week is spring break over here! I wish that meant I was on some fabulous getaway, but in reality, for me it means I'm working more than usual because apparently everyone else went on fabulous getaways :) What about you? Do you get to go away for the week?

Today I'm asking you to take a moment out of your spring break bliss, and give me your opinion. We got rid of the baby bath we used with Liv and now are looking for a new one for the new baby. These are my three favorites that I'm considering. These are a lot different than the blue plastic one we had with Liv, but I like that all of these can be stored so much easier, and we are extremely limited on space. Plus all of these are BPA and PVC free! This might seem like a silly thing to be giving this much thought to, but since we are having our second girl there is not a lot that I get to buy brand new, so when there is something that we need I want it to be the best! 

With all that said, which do you like the best? Have you heard of any of these? Used any of these? Have any of these?

1) Blooming bath: 

plush, made of antimicrobial foam, can be thrown in the dryer or hung on the door

2) Puj tub:

can hang flat on the back of the door, non-slip, can be used in a small sink 

3) Naked bath (by boon):

folds flat for easy storage, reclines for newborn, expands for sitting toddler (expanded setting shown below)

Its been a couple years since I've had a newborn. Any other suggestions of must haves or new baby gear that I might not know about? 

I love you because...

When I saw this on Pinterest I knew I had to have it! 

I needed a simple version like this for our bedroom with the hope that it wouldn't look too cheesy,

so I just made my own and bought a frame on clearance at Micheal's:

We've had this hanging on our bedroom wall for a month now and it has been so much fun!

We write on it secretly, when no one is looking :)

I have found myself looking forward to seeing what my husband writes about me, and when I notice that it has changed it is such a fun little pick me up during the day. It has helped me look for the good and wonderful things about my husband rather than focusing on the negative.

I'm thinking I want to have one in each of my kid's room too.
What a fun way to let each person know you've thought about them and you notice how special they are!

As mentioned, I originally saw this on Pinterest which led me to Kiki Creates. Check out her cute ideas! There are a lot of different ways you could do this to make it work for your family like putting it on your refrigerator, in the playroom, inside closets (in case boys think its too cheesy, but you know they would secretly love it).

You can visit her etsy shop for more colorful versions.

If you're looking for a more simple design, you can print my plain version here!
{Go 'File' to 'Print' or just click the printer icon in the upper left corner}
It will fit in an 8x8 square frame. Simply place the paper behind the glass and use dry erase or window markers to write.

Hello!

My name is Taryn (Tare-in). I am the youngest of the 5 sisters. I LOVED growing up with older sisters to look up to/steal clothes from. I’m pretty sure that I was always the typical annoying little sister that copied everything they did, but hopefully they liked having someone who idolized everything about them!? Let’s be honest, I still copy everything they do (and I still idolize them)!

Now I live in Texas with my husband of 4 ½ years, our 2 year old daughter, and our 2^nd daughter, due to arrive in May.

I feel like I’m still learning and growing into my roles of wife and mother (that probably shouldn’t be true of someone who has a 2 year old, a baby on the way, and has already been married for over 4 years!). I’m not as “on the ball” or nearly as organized as my sisters, but I try my best. When it comes to my sisters, I still feel like I have to run just to keep up with their walking pace...just like it was in the old days!

My number one goal for each and every day is to show my little family that I love them, and if I can’t seem to accomplish that then I am sure to tell them at least twice a day every day, even if the laundry doesn’t get folded or dinner is not made by me.

Here are a handful of things about me.

• I’m a Dental Hygienist and currently work part time
• I love to read and am a member of 2 book clubs.
• I have all kinds of projects planned for baby #2 but have yet to start any of them.
• I love to get dressed up and go out with my husband! Doesn’t everyone though.
• One of my favorite things in this world is eating delicious food. My husband and I are on the constant prowl for good eats whether it be restaurants or recipes.
• I can’t get enough of feeling this baby move and I can’t wait to welcome her in May!