Trice's Take

I love to see gift guides for holidays.  It’s always fun to see ideas on what other families give to their littles.  So, I’m sharing what’s in our little’s baskets 🙂 I once told a friend when she asked what I give the kids for Easter, that ‘our Easter bunny brings new swimsuits’.  My daughter has an intolerance to artificial dyes, and I don’t like junky candy for the sake of their teeth, so I only give minimal candy.  I like to give things that I know we will actually use in the upcoming months.

Like past years, my daughter knows that in her Easter basket there will be a new swimsuit and other trinkets for outside play.  It’s a little reminder that warm weather is approaching.  It also reminds this mama that both kids need to be signed up for swim lessons again soon!  I loved getting my little man his first Mickey Mouse suit and can’t wait to see him in it .  To go along with the suits, there are new sunglasses (because we always lose them each year) and pool toys.

Mickey Suit and Little Mermaid Suit

This year, while shopping for Disney swimsuits, I saw bubble wands for the summer and a bubble machine.  They were adorable.  I also bought my daughter a new box of crayons and coloring books (mainly to entertain her at relative’s houses that don’t have toys) and big crayons for my son who is trying so hard to color like his big sister.

Leave me a comment about what you get your littles!

With Easter less than two weeks away I’m getting excited to see all of the pretty pastel colored fashion coming out for Spring.  The snow has finally melted in Chicago (hopefully for the rest of the season) and I’m slowly stashing my boots away till next year.  My flats are slowly making an appearance, as are my sneakers.

With Spring comes walks to the park, zoo trips, and basically living outside after being confined for months of blizzardy winter weather.  I’ve already started planning out how I’m going to lay out the backyard so we can be outside as much as possible.  We are currently looking at a new swingset for my daughter’s birthday, as well as a ton of bubble machines, and sand/water tables.  This year my son will be on the move too, so sneakers are a must to keep up with my kiddos.

Last year I invested in a few colorful sneaks to brighten up my ‘momiform’ for the warmer weather.  My life as a SAHM doesn’t allow for super fancy kicks these days, but I love adding a pop of color to any boring outfit with fun shoes.  And, there were so many fun patterns last year like gingham and floral.  So, of course I started scoping out the fun options again this year.  Here, are a few of my top picks:

I still cannot believe February is almost over.  I’ve rounded up a little of what we have been up to and what I’ve been loving this month.

1. Favorite Place I Went this Month:

My sweet mom suggested my husband and I have schedule a date night this month.  With the kids being sick I was starting to go a little bit stir crazy.  I’ve been wanting to see the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, ‘Love Never Dies’ so we got tickets to see that.  It was so amazing!  My husband took me to see the original Phantom of the Opera when we started dating, so  even he enjoyed it 🙂

2.  Favorite Recipe I Made:

Let me preface by saying my daughter is one of the PICKIEST eaters in the world.  We have some allowances in our house because had years of sensory integration therapy and part of that was different food textures. However, I am constantly looking for recipes that the food is not ‘combined’ or touching.  So, when I saw a recipe on pinterest for chicken avocado burgers, I thought maybe Dea would at least trying them.  Also, I thought they would be a good item for Nathan, who is just learning to eat finger foods, to try as well.  They were a total win!  I usually take recipes and just kind of throw ingredients together that I already have in the house so my recipe went like this:

• 1 pound ground chicken (I used extra lean but I’m sure any type would work)
• 2 avocados mashed up
• About 1 cup of brown rice flour
• A few pieces of white onion chopped very finely
• About 1 tsp salt
• About 1 tsp garlic powder

I combined all the ingredients and cooked them on the stovetop.  They were soft enough for my son to eat and plain enough for Dea to enjoy.  Adding a dinner option to our menu is always a huge thing for this mama.

3.  Favorite Outfit I Wore:

Definitely the outfit I wore to ‘Love Never Dies’.  I absolutely loved this dress.  At first I thought it was a little much with all the colors, but I love a good collared neck dress so I was in love with it.

4.  Favorite Book

I just started this book, ‘Mom Set Free’.  My cousin highly recommended.  I rarely sit down to read these days (even though I love to) but from what I’ve read on my kindle app on my phone it is so good!  Now, just a few kid free minutes because I’m dying to finish it 🙂

5.  Favorite Kid’s Item

We have an area of our basement that is tiled so I slowly converting that are to an ‘art’ room for my daughter (and son when he is old enough).  I really wanted to organize all of her crafts, stickers, and other art supplies so I purchased this.  My daughter is slowly helping me put all of her things in the cute colorful drawers during her brother’s nap time.

6.  Favorite ‘Mom’ Item

I recently partnered with ‘Rocksbox’ Subscription box and I absolutely love it!  I have been wanting to try this subscription for awhile because who doesn’t want to ‘rent’ new jewelry each month.  I love so many pieces they offer and get excited to update my monthly wish list.

You can get a month free using code ‘tricestakexoxo’.

7.  Favorite Beauty/Skincare Item

I’m loving this lip scrub from Dior.  My lips are alway dry so this is the perfect way to moisturize but still have some color while exfoliating!  I’m all about multitasking.

8.  Favorite Date Night

We haven’t been going on too many date nights these days.  My husband and I prefer day dates and we took one to see ‘Love Never Dies’ and it reminded us that we do not spend enough time together.  However, this stage of life is so tiring and can be a challenge to even find time for yourself; much less your spouse too.  My son has thankfully started going to bed around 10:30 compared to 11:30 so my husband and I are just trying to catch a few minutes to talk while watching a show.  It usually doesn’t last long before I have to go to bed, but at least it’s something.  Oh, and he’s usually sucked into watching the Bachelor 😉

9.  Favorite Cocktail/Mocktail

I don’t drink much anymore with two kids.  I’m also in the middle of dieting to lose the baby weight, so drinking has become a low priority.  I love pinot noir, but it just A) makes me tired or B) gives me a headache. So, I’m usually finding creative ways to get my water intake in.  This month my drink of choice has been the ‘Island Colata’ sparkling water from Trader Joe’s.  It kind of makes me feel like I’m on a tropical island relaxing…for about 2 seconds before one of my children start screaming for me.

10.  Favorite Target Find

This little nightlight/musical toy has saved me from nights of no sleep.  I recently bought it at target and my son loves it.  If he wakes up in the middle of the night, he just puts it on and goes back to sleep.  I cannot talk this toy up enough.  And, it’s soft so it can go in the crib without fear that my son will hurt himself.  The one thing I am going to buy new moms.

11.  Favorite Activity

As simple as it sounds this month was all about taking walks with the kids.  As soon as the weather warmed up a bit, we were outside.  My daughter was on her bike and my son was in the stroller.  In the winter you forget how much physical activity just make you feel better and calmer.  We went on our daily walk today and I am going to miss it tomorrow when the temperatures drop and it rains.  However, I decided to dust off my treadmill and continue my walks in the house till Spring finally arrives.  I also purchased my daughter this Smart Cycle so she doesn’t feel sad about not riding her bike.  Also, it’s a little more physical activity for both of us!

**This post contains affiliate links.  I do receive a small commission by you clicking and/or purchasing through the links.  Thank you as always for your support!

Hope you enjoyed my favorites for February!

I recently came across the first Valentine’s card my husband gave me.  It was tucked away in my jewelry drawer where I kept my engagement ring box.  The ‘story of us’ and our Valentine’s day celebrations look a little different than they used to when my husband and I first met.  We have a little less time for us, and our Valentine’s Day celebration includes two little cuties.  However, that doesn’t stop us from dressing up and celebrating this holiday as a family.   

As a mom I am often searching for outfit building pieces that are kid-friendly.  Chasing two children under five leaves little room for accessories that cannot withstand little hands.  When I put an outfit together for the day I have to think about whether I will be carrying a toddler.  My son is constantly pulling on new embellishments I add to my wardrobe, while my daughter is constantly borrowing them for her daily dress up initiatives.  

This is why I was so excited to partner with Jord Wood Watches for their Valentine’s Day campaign.  Their focus is on a modern lifestyle, and they value sustainability. This is so important to this mom that still wants to look her best.  The band width of the Frankie Purpleheart is 18 mm so it is very thick and the Jord company refrains from using toxic chemicals to treat the wood. The watch is also splash proof so I am never worried to wear it around my children.

The Jord timepieces are also beautiful.  With Valentine’s Day coming up I am so excited to add the Jord Frankie Purpleheart & Plum to my ensemble.  It has pretty burgundy and purple undertones with a pink face to be a perfect accessory for any Valentine’s outfit.  Even if that means ordering pizza on Valentine’s Day and making heart shaped cookies with my daughter to celebrate.

I also have exciting news!  Jord watches is offering you a chance to win $100 off one of their beautiful watches so you can accessorize your Valentine’s Day outfit, or give a watch as a gift to your sweetie.  Everyone that enters receives 10% off their order too!  The contest ends February 18th, 2018.  Good Luck!  Click here for offer.

WIDGET CODE

Luxury Wooden Watch

Happy Friday!  I am so glad this week is over.  My husband has been out of town and our daughter is sick.  Also, we are completely snowed in!  SO MUCH SNOW.

Whenever I’m stuck at home I look around and want to organize, organize, and more organize.  However, with two kids at home my adventures in organizing are pretty limited to 10-15 minute projects.  So I thought I would tackle the gift cards laying around from Christmas.

If you are like me, you dread getting VISA and AMEX gift cards.  I mean you would think they would be pretty awesome, but when it comes time to use them I get SO confused.  Either the cashier has no idea how to apply them to your order, or I forget the pin number, or I just completely forget to bring them to the store.

However, I LOVE applying them to my Amazon account as credit.  I send myself an e-gift card using the VISA or AMEX gift card as payment.  Then, once I receive the email I just apply it as credit to my Amazon account.  Super easy and I don’t have to be limited by a certain amount here and another gift card amount somewhere else.  I can add all the gift cards up to one large credit amount on Amazon.

I love having all the gift cards consolidated into one account, and who doesn’t use Amazon prime these days?!  I can use the credit on things for the kids, or I find some fun fashion finds on Amazon like this cardigan.  This fun cardigan was only $15.99 and I used my VISA gift card to pay for it.  Total style steal 😉

Let me know if you like this series and if I should continue doing more.