What Have We Been Up To?

Well hello everyone! Long time no post, right? Life has been crazy busy lately and I feel like I've treated the blog like a bit of a redheaded stepchild - it just hasn't been a huge priority compared to everything else going on in my life. What the heck has been going on, you might ask? Here's the rundown:

I've been working on decorating our master bedroom, which I'm ridiculously excited about. For the past two years the room has basically been a blank slate with zero personality so I'm looking forward to completing the transformation. I should probably share before and after photos, but I'd like to wait until I'm a bit farther along in the project.

We also ran our first 5k as a family. To be honest, the incentive for me was the free donut at the end of the race (Top Pot Donuts here in Seattle sponsored the event). Still, it felt good to complete something together and I'm sure there will be more races in our future, possibly even another marathon.

Let' see, what else... The boys turned 7 months old. I can hardly believe it! They are finally on solids as well. So far the only foods that trigger automatic gag reflexes for them are broccoli and blended meats. Can you blame them? Here they are enjoying squash puree. Mm... squishy mush.

I was also part of a friend's wedding in California back in April. Man did it feel good to have somebody throw me in a nice dress and then do my make-up and hair. After months of looking completely disheveled, which comes with the job of being a stay-at-home mom, I finally felt like I looked semi-presentable. Of course I bawled my eyes out through the entire wedding ceremony (it was beautiful) and quickly smeared away all of the make-up, but it was nice while it lasted. P.S. I'm convinced that tears flow much more freely after you've had kids, but that's a debate best saved for another time.

We also somehow ended up hosting one or two dinner events at our house PER WEEK during the month of April, which was insane, but also a lot of fun. Then there were trips to the zoo, birthday celebrations, and multiple twins club gatherings.

*Exhale*

Here's to getting back into the swing of things with the blog this week and sharing inspiring things once again with you all!

Bachelorette Party Fun

I'm flying into Burbank tomorrow morning to kick-off a weekend of bachelorette party fun in honor of my best friend Briana. I'm looking forward to pool time, pedicures, and of course, the party itself, as this is a solo trip (kids are staying behind with daddy.) Thank God! This mama could really use a break.

Although most of Briana's party is already planned, I'm considering making something fun to add to the mix. Like a survival kit for everyone. Thank you Pinterest for having so many fun ideas!

Now if Saturday could only come a little quicker...

Snacks, water, bandaids, gum, Advil and breath mints.  

I love the title of this one. Very clever. 

I love the custom labels on this one.

A cute, cost-effective way to carry all the goodies. 

The Real Problem With Barbie - Soapbox Style

Have you heard about the new Barbie doll competitor named Lammily? She was created by artist Nickolay Lamm in order to draw attention to Barbie's "unrealistic body proportions."

The Lammily doll

Lamm's project has sparked discussion about how the doll might positively influence body acceptance among young women. While I think that's a nice thought, I don't believe that a doll with more realistic body proportions is going to shift body confidence in little girls or tweens alike. In fact, I don't know anyone who played with a Barbie doll as a kid who then compared herself to one as an adult. (I understand that there are plenty of Barbie doll types who are alive and kicking in the world. One only needs to look at the beaches of sunny, Southern California or watch any "Housewives of [insert city name here]" reality TV show for examples of that.)

The bigger issue here, for me at least, is that young girls get their body confidence from their mothers (or equivalent parental figures), and what mother out there hasn't dieted or fretted about her weight? Or her make-up? Or her hairstyle? Or wrinkles? I know my mom certainly worried about all of these things so I grew up worrying about them too.

I think it's sad that some mothers are willing to put their faith in a doll when it comes to improving body confidence in their daughters. Isn't confidence a learned behavior? We're fooling ourselves if we expect our daughters to love and tolerate their bodies when we aren't even willing to do that ourselves. No doll is going to change that.

Home Improvement Projects Galore

With two babies on the way in October this year (yay!), we've gone into a cleaning frenzy in preparation for our impending lack of free time.

Last week we tackled the rock steps in our backyard. As you can see from the first photo below, the steps didn't align with our gate and they were crooked and quite steep so climbing up and down them was tricky. With some heavy machinery, cheap paid help, and guidance from my father (who happens to be a professional landscaper), we were able to complete the project in about 4 hours. Now I just need to find some time to plant some water-absorbing ground cover around the stones so it looks a little more lively.

Up next week: we redo our front porch!

BEFORE

AFTER!

Good News on a Monday

Happy Monday readers! You may be wondering why I haven't posted lately. You may also be wondering what happened with Mixology Mondays.  The short answer: I'm pregnant! With twins!
As such, I've had to take some "me time" in recent weeks to deal with 24/7 morning sickness and all the fun stuff that comes with a first trimester pregnancy. This of course also means drinking has gone out the door and with that, so has Mixology Mondays. (I look forward to bringing the series back at a later time.) In the meantime, I hope you'll join me in celebration on this fine Monday. It's going to be a great week!

P.S. This is not an April Fools' Day joke. :)

Lately...

Remember all those unfinished projects I mentioned I'd be tackling as a result of unemployment? One of those projects was painting some of the rooms in our house that either need a fresh coat of paint or a completely new color. I started with our living room and worked my way into our dining room (pictured below). I'll be moving on to our hallway next. I'm thinking something along the lines of seafoam green there, but I haven't decided yet. Painting is a lot of work, but I'm having a blast!