Summer Vacation 2014

Seeing as August is half way over, and our family vacation was already a month ago, I figured it was time to document our trip.  We went to Maine...my July stomping grounds growing up. 
It was very meaningful having my husband and two kids come to the place that I enjoyed going to every single summer as a child and have so many memories built around that time. I love that we are continuing the tradition and look forward to making our own yearly vacation tradition as well. :)

Well, needless to say, we had a blast.  We always do.  Our kids our the best little travelers alive.  They don't complain (well ok, there were a few complaints within the first 10 minutes, but once we really got on the road it ended...for the most part), they go with the flow, they sleep in the same room and enjoy it (which I am sure someday it will come to a screeching halt), and are so much fun to be around.  It was the first time that Nate and I went with the two kids. Our last trip we went, I was about 33 weeks pregnant with Anya...walking, moving, bending, lifting, cooking, sleeping, breathing and anything else you can imagine was painful for me at that time...but that can be saved for another time...Anyways... this was our first trip to Maine as a family of 4 with my extended Dearing side of the family!

It was a pretty simple trip.  Wake up (a little earlier than I had hoped), breakfast, coffee and relaxing at "our beach house" as Jaxon called it (and still calls it), followed by beach time, late afternoon naps for the kids corresponding with beverages, board games and cards for us with parents, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles - whoever was around, followed by seafood dinners, move beverages, s'mores and hanging out on the deck.  It also included ice cream cones, a night out with my hubby, some running (ok, a run) and last but not least, some QT with Grammy D.  Just a typical New England summer vacation and it was actually pretty relaxing...as relaxing as a vacation is with two toddlers.  I didn't want it to end!

So, here are some pictures to sum up our week of fun :)

And we're off!

My heart

The bench was the spot to take shoes off each trip to the beach.

Daddy and daughter time

Our evening hangout

Getting warmed up

Some hide and seek with feet

Sticks and stones

Our evening view

Naptime fun!

And some morning fun!

Sunset selfie

A house full of pizzas from Portland Pie

Of course had to play some beach volleyball with my brothers!

Playing with Bigbee

The girls

Nothing like having my favorite humans all in one place!

:)

Best brothers ever :)

Waves

A vacation isn't a vacation without some ice cream!

The kid loves boogie boards

The little princess

Card tricks with Uncle Kev

Parents night out!

A pit stop at the bench

And a smooch ;)

Our final trip to the beach.

Good by Maine - until next time! ;)

There is not much I love more than travelling with my family!  Can't wait for our next adventure just around the corner!

~Erin Leigh

"Travel as much and as you can. As far as you can. As long as you can.  Life's not meant to be lived in one place."

"Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer."

 

Organization - Week 2

So last week was week 2 of organization projects.  I am tackling/implementing three things a week until...who knows when...and then maintaining!    If you need to catch up you can read about the three things I tackled week 1 here. 

 

The first project I tackled during week 2 was our coat closet...the one we actually use for coats and not toys!  You can see the before and after below!  Talk about a wreck before...tell me I am not the only one whose closet can quickly get to this status?! I went to Target and bought two large baskets...one is holding winter hats/gloves/scarves and then the other is holding summer stuff.  I also picked up a shoe rack.  I LOVE how organized it is now!  (The things that excite me these days are starting to scare me....who am I?!?!)  Anyways...that was task 1 = complete! :)

 

 

Project 2 of the week was implementing another round of "nesting" aka - purge through remaining baby belongings, organize, sell and donate.  I sold items to five people that I am meeting up with this week and added more to my donation collection.  One step closer to basement organization and renovation!!

 

And lastly, the third project, that is only partially completed because it is a LONG project, and quite frankly, I don't have hours on end to work on it...but, I made some progress! My closet (our closet).  Closet, oh closet. I have such a love/hate relationship with you.  I love clothes and shoes and accessories (maybe too much) but it quickly gets unorganized and I haven't purged my own stuff for some time.  So, I started on Saturday.  You can clearly see that it is a complete disaster!  Well, I organized the shoes, pulled out clothes that I won't wear again, separated the remaining clothes by season/style (aka work clothes, pants, casual, dresses, sweaters etc). 

 

I'm clearly thrilled. ;)

 

I will be honest, the left side is still a disaster but I am loving this after shot!  The organized look makes me so happy. Let's see how long the shoes can stay that way! (Probably until my kids find their way into my closet and try on all my shoes)!  The left side of the closet is on my list this week!  One step at a time!

 

 

So, those are my three things I did this week to de-clutter/organize!  Did you do anything? On top of that, I made a goal of 5 workouts for the week giving me a little leeway with a minimum of 4 workouts.  Well - 5 workouts it was - 1 of them being a run on Saturday! It was a nice sunny day!  Overall week 2 was a pretty productive week! :)

 

~Erin Leigh

 

 

 

Reflection

My little one found her reflection this weekend and I fortunately had my camera handy to capture the "interaction!"  She has, of course, seen her reflection before, but this time she was interacting with herself.  She had so much fun and it was such a cute moment! Saying "hi," making funny faces, giving herself dirty looks and kisses...it was precious!

 

 

It is amazing how such a small event in the life of a child makes my heart want to burst with love as a parent.  Do you experience little moments like these that makes a bigger impact than you would think?  

 

~Erin Leigh

 

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Crockpot Chicken Tacos

This week I tried a variation of my Crockpot Chicken Tacos  using seasonings from a local business called The Tasty Tomato I recently heard of.  They make and sell dip mixes, seasoning packages and beer bread mixes with no added sugar or salt.  It was my first recipe trying out their seasonings and it came out great!  I have a few other kinds of seasonings that I can't wait to try out soon too! :) 

Crockpot Chicken Tacos:
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1 14.5 oz can of natural diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon Simple Salsa Seasoning from The Tasty Tomato  (2 teaspoons for a spicier version)
(How simple is that?!?!)

Directions:
Throw together in crockpot. Place on high for 5 hours or low for 8. Shred chicken and mix back together.  Serve with taco shells, rice, beans, cheese, salsa, sour cream, avocado or whatever floats your boat! :)

 

 

Mmmm...so good! Can't wait for leftovers for lunch today...and I am not a leftover person! 

~Erin Leigh

The Day of Love

I have been teaching the kids that today, Valentine's Day, is the Day of Love...but really, to me it is just another day.  We give lots of hugs and kisses, say lots of daily "I love you's" and do our best to show thoughtfulness year round...which to me, is more important than focusing on one day per year. But, that is just my opinion. We go out to dinner weekly...I would rather go out tomorrow instead of tonight with everyone else (no offense to anyone going out to eat tonight ;) ).  However, the kids and I did decorate some sugar cookies, wear red, made a few homemade Valentine's and did our usual holiday photo shoot. :)

 

The photo shoot today brought me to do a little thinking about these two characters.  There are few things I love more than the love between my kids.  The constant laughter, dancing, singing, playing, running, protecting, kissing and hugging melts my heart. Yes there are definitely frustrating and overwhelming times as a parent (for example, when they gang up on you for going on vacation, throw simultaneous tantrums or both choose to throw their food or milk on the floor), but it is amazing watching their relationship grow and I can see that those things that can frustrate us as parents are them teaming up (we are probably in for it down the road) and building their little relationship.  They are definitely each other's "other half" right now and I love it.  Here is a look at our little Valentine's Day pictures.  On a side note, a good picture of two toddlers gets harder and harder to capture!

 

First, this photo proves that they have grown to be simultaneously difficult.  The top is our 2013 Valentine's Day picture which I attempted to repeat - clearly unsuccessful!

 

 

And the rest are a few shots I got throughout the morning!

Checking out the driveway being plowed.

 

 

Definitely not the greatest hair day! Lol

Always on her toes!

The love! 

 

And, of course, our Love sugar cookies we made yesterday :)

 

 

Hope everyone has a great day!  What are YOUR thoughts about Valentine's Day?  

 

~Erin Leigh

 

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