Thankful

For our little family.

& for laughter.

& for this goof. 

& for this sweet man. 

& for this nugget. 

& for snuggles. 

&. &. &.

for everything. 

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photos by Hot Metal Studio, June 2013.

Coffee. And Community.

Today I had a Show Your Real guest post lined up, but I had something on my heart that I wanted to share, so I decided to switch things up a bit. So that means you will be hearing from an awesome guest poster next week...How about some show your real action two weeks in a row?! Sounds good to me.

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After I had Fin, I saw flyer at our pediatrician's office for a New Mom's Coffee. Kind of like a play date, except for babies too young to play, it's basically a support group for new moms. The paper said they met every week (choice of attending on Wednesday or Thursday) at a communal space adjacent to my doctors' office. I grabbed a handout and debated whether I should go or not. On the one hand it sounded like it could be cool. When I had Piper I went through a bit of a rough patch of feeling lonely, discouraged, broken and overwhelmed. I was feeling pretty good with Fin, but knew that some extra support couldn't hurt. I was a little wary of showing up to a random group without knowing anyone, or what to expect, but in the end I decided to give it a shot. I figured if it was horrible than it was just two hours out of my life that I would never get back. And if it was great...then great! Either way, at the very least it was an opportunity to get out of the house. 

So I showed up...a bit apprehensive, but open minded. And from the very first day, I fell in love. It's a simple format: new moms come with their babies, sit in a circle, and each person gets to share what's going on with them that week. Their rule, the only rule, is that you have to be real. (So you know I felt like I was in the right place!) To people that don't have a baby at home, sitting around for two hours with other women complaining about their babies sleep (or lack there of) and poop (or lack there of) might sound excruciating. But for those of us in the newborn trenches, hearing somebody else's experience, being able to share in a forum without judgment, and having everyone care and understand about the slightest problems as much as you do, is a godsend.

 Fin celebrating 2 months...with a little snooze on the NMC pillows. 

I faithfully attended each week, switching from Wednesday to Thursday, and back again to make sure I never missed a week, even when our schedule was a little crazy. And I got to know a whole lot of mamas. Mamas that were like me. And mamas that weren't. I listened to their stories, and their challenges. I watched babies grow from two-week-old lumps into...well...three month old lumps, but still- they grew. I hurt for those mamas when they struggled, and I rejoiced with them when they succeeded. I gave advice to the newest amongst us, and I took advice from anyone who would dish it. We laughed together, cried together, learned together, failed together. Oh, and we drank a bunch of coffee together (Or in my case: coke zero). It was an intense community formed quickly and easily, based on some of the biggest and hardest tests of our lives. 

I looked forward to seeing those mamas (and babies) every week. And on my last week of maternity leave I may have even gone several days in a row, to say goodbye to each one of the different groups.And now that I'm back at work, I miss my mamas. I believe the people are designed to be in community with one another. And I believe that new moms in particular need this community. Thankfully, they've now started a Working Mom's Coffee, so I can get my fix once a month, and in the meantime, they have a facebook group to allow everyone to stay in touch even when they can't meet up live. 

I posted in that group yesterday when I was feeling overwhelmed, and in need of the special kind of support those mamas give so freely. And they met me there, with encouragement, and a comforting chorus of "me too's". I'm so thankful for that community, and wanted to share a bit of it with you all today.

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If I was attending New Mom's Coffee this week, this is what I would tell you:

I would tell you that I'm so SO tired. Like- fall asleep in church (seriously), 9pm bedtime, had to take a nap before work today- tired. The kind of tired that makes your brain fuzzy, your eyes hurt, and everything you say sound nasty.

I would tell you that my husband and I are fighting. About big things, little things, everything and nothing. Everything seems to be taken the wrong way. We're both on edge. There's no one to pile frustrations on so it just becomes each other.

I would tell you that I'm stressed. I need at least 3 more hours in the day every single day, to get everything done. My house is in shambles, the constant errands and meal prep seem to be a full time job of their own. And the holidays are coming which means planning trips, gifts, parties and forced family merriment.

I would tell you all these things not for sympathy (though that would be fine too). I would tell you so that you would know you're not alone if you feel those things too. If you snapped at your husband. If you snored through a sermon. If you canceled a Secret Santa exchange because you just can't stand the thought of spending one more Saturday picking up junk at TJ Maxx.

I would tell you all of those things, and then I would show you my sweet baby's cheeks and how they smoosh up when she smiles. Which is every time I kiss her. Which is a lot. And we would all laugh and nod and say "Hang in there!" And then I'd eat another cookie. 

Quilt-along: Decisions, Decisions

The Quilt-along has officially been in effect for 18 days now…and so far, it's a lot of fun!

No, I haven't actually made any progress on an actual quilt, but other people have! Elise has been cutting away, making a triangle masterpiece, and Katie picked some cute fabrics for her nephew.

It's been exciting to see what everyone has been cooking up, and the peer pressure of knowing that other people have gotten started, made me get my act together and at least start formulating my idea. 

The act of making the quilt is going to be hard enough, but I'm overwhelmed already just trying to choose what I want to do. I've been searching and pinning and have a general direction, but I'm still really torn on what buy and how to piece it. I thought maybe it would be helpful to share my options and see what you all think. warning…It's a little all over the place. And little is an understatement. 

The one thing I've settled on for sure, is that I'm making my quilt for the living room, for us to cuddle under while we watch TV. It's going to be roughly twin sized (maybe smaller by the time I mess it all up). It's not crucial that it matches anything really...It won't be a design centerpiece in the room- I just want it to be something that makes me happy every time we pull it out. Easier said than done.

First decision: Quilt design

There are no shortage of things out there that I love…it's actually the exact opposite problem. But I did manage to narrow it down to a few ideas. 

Option A: Deconstructed chevron

I kind of love this. It doesn't look terribly hard, basically making big strips made up of several diagonal pieces. And the semi random nature of it means I wouldn't have to stress about lining things up perfectly (or at all…) Still, since my last quilt had about 3 pieces total, this would be a considerable step up in the skill department. Not 100% sure I'm ready for that. 

Option B: Bar Graph

I'm trying to keep in simple, and after seeing a few plain horizontal stripe options, I imagined something like a bar graph, and googled to find an example. It seems like it would be pretty simple (minus all that crazy quilt stitching…) And it's a pretty modern look, which I like. 

But then I found this fabric I'm kind of obsessed with, and am now debating if I should use this as my inspiration. We'll call it: 

Option C: Variegated stripes

Cool right? I like the off center placement, and the different thicknesses of the stripes. 

Here's another example of how it might look as an actual quilt (you know…if I was good at this…)

And just to further complicate things…I have one more idea in the mix. 

Option D: Hexagon

More stripes, but I really like the hexagon design shown in the upper right corner, and how it morphs into stripes, rather than being a regular all over design. Downside? This would require a lot more effort- such as measuring, cutting, lining up, and sewing things with more than just a pinch of precision (which is all I'm afraid I'll be able to muster…)

So it's narrowed down, but still wide open. Let's move on and see if the next phase helps dictate a design direction. 

Second decision: Fabric selection

The idea I have in my head, is large scale traditional floral with bold colors, and bit of a modern edge and maybe a watercolor feel. After much searching (MUCH searching, and a cry for help to the #stitchittogether crew) I found a designer I love: Martha Negley. She's got some really beautiful prints, and there are quite a few that fit in with the look I have in mind.

Here are five favs from her collection- and a sixth from a different designer. 

I'm really digging the leaves, and like the green, pink and aqua versions. 

I know they look a little grandma-chic (and I'm maybe being a little generous on the "chic" part…but it is a matter of personal taste), but my idea is to pair it with a deep charcoal for the front, use a stripe for the back to make it more modern, and finish it all in a pop color binding. 

Love this stripe. Because of course I do.

Deep grey, and a fun pop color. 

So I thought Martha was the answer to all my problems, but then I found this beauty...

Social Climber in Gold- is that name perfect or what?

...And kind of fell in love. I'm not totally sure I'd still go with dark grey if I chose this one (I worry the orange and black might look a little too bumble-bee, or steelers-esque for my taste), but I love how rich the colors are. I do worry that the linear pattern of the roses might not work with the quilting ideas I chose, but then again, maybe it would be perfect. I genuinely have no idea at this point.

If I go with one of the Martha fabrics- or even several of them- I'm just having a had time choosing from all the options she has. And things only get more complicated from here: 

Third decision: Details

I played around with laying it out on the computer, which is helping, but still has me pretty overwhelmed.

Let's start with the side I'm loving: The back.

Cool, right? Simple. Modern. Easy. The part where the vertical lines are shifted in the middle was an accident from trying to tile two images together, but I actually kind of love that too, and might keep it as a part of the end design.

Now for the hard part: The front.
So far I've only played around with Option B (the bar graph). But I could easily shift it more centered to be more like option C, and I've messed around a little bit with adding hexagons like option D.

Originally I thought I would only use two fabrics for the front, one solid, and one print. I thought all of my stripes could be out of the print, and I would just cut them up so the flowers didn't line up, so you still got the effect of pieces, it would just be more subtle.

Option 1: All one fabric: 
(you have to use your imagination a little because I'm tiling one little snippet of the fabric as a mock up...the real pattern would be more varied, and less stamped since the repeat wouldn't be so tight.)

 

But I wasn't 100% sold, so I tried using a few different fabrics, all in the same tone (with a little pop color stripe near the bottom.

Option 2: All one color fabric:

But I kinda missed the flower idea, so I tried mixing them all together:

Option 3: All different fabrics

I like this one (though the green stripe in the center, and the grey one at the top aren't blending with the others as well as I'd like. I could skip those for the real quilt, or if the stripes were different thicknesses I'd use them more sparingly).

But I'm scared teh whole thing is looking a little too Vera Bradley/Sorority girl. Not that there's anything wrong with that...It's just the Green/Pink/Grey/Floral thing turned out a bit more preppy than I pictured. I was hoping for something a little more edgy and modern. I think the fabrics could still give me the look I want, I'm just not sure how to combine it all to make it feel funky and different.

I even tried the hexagon thing- merging it with the bar graph idea. I sort of like it, but I'm not sure it works as well as this hybrid as it did in the inspiration design. And even if it does, I'm really not sure I can make it in real life! (and it might be insane with all prints, and no solids?)

So what do you think? It's a lot to take in, and there are a million other things to think about, like binding color and/or pattern, and let's not even get into the stitching pattern yet (I put a simple diamond pattern on the mockups just to try it, but I'm not sold.) but if you have an opinion, I'm all ears. Check out the polls below, and weigh in. And if you've got other ideas, tips, or thoughts on why it's not quite coming together yet, please comment!

Which quilt design do you prefer?

Which details should I choose?

Which fabric(s) do you like?

All sources can be found on my pinterest boards: Fabric, Quilt and Quiltalong.
Follow along with the rest of the Quilt-along crew by searching #stitchittogether on social media.

Little Pip-speaks: Birthday Edition

As Piper is getting older, she's starting to get funnier and funnier. We've always gotten a kick out of her goofy antics, but the more verbal she becomes the more hilarious things that come out of her mouth. To capture the "kids say the darnedest things"-ness of it all, I thought it would be fun to start a series...

Here are a few "piperisms" (Like bowdenisms, but smaller, and more adorable) from her birthday weekend: 

Pip-speak #1
Upon seeing a flat, square present: "I want to open my new book!"
(how did she know?!)

Pip-speak #2
Carrying allllll her stuffed animals: "I have a lot of things!!"

Pip-speak #3
As she unwrapped presents, building suspense: "I got...I got...I GOTTTTTTT...a [insert name of thing in a crazy excited voice here]!"

Pip-speak #4
Daddy, reading her birthday card from Grandmom & Grandpop: "Who's a darling birthday g-"
Piper- interrupting- "MEEEEE!"

Pip-speak #5
Daddy: How old will you be on your birthday? 
Piper: One!
Daddy: Nooooo...
Piper: Ummm...Ladybug!!
Daddy: You're going to be ladybug years old? 
Piper: Yeah! And mommy ladybug too. And daddy ladybug too! 

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Have a MARVELOUS (Piper's newest vocab word) weekend!

Show Your Real: Lindsey

I love it when a friend in real life tuns into a blog friend too...Especially when that real life friend is someone you've lost touch with over the years. What better way to catch up than through each others' writing? And I super love it when a real life friend, turned blogger friend offers to share on my blog...And that's what you're getting today! I went to high school with Lindsey, but now that she's a first time mama, and a blogger, we have even more in common after all these years than we did back when we sat next to each other in Chemistry. (Or pre-calc? Or...Spanish? Man, I'm getting old...I barely remember which classes I took. I'm pretty sure I graduated though...Or at least just stopped going.) I know especially you new moms will enjoy Lindsey's story...I nodded my head the whole way through. (Oh- and I didn't pay her to say all those nice things about me...I actually almost edited them out! But if Lindsey's real is influenced by the community here, then I'm proud to be a part of that.)

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Hi! I’m Lindsey. I am loud, stubborn, caring, sensitive, and always trying to make people happy. When Courtney asked me to be a part of her #showyourreal series, I was ecstatic. Touched. And honored. But mostly, I think I felt like my recent foray into the blog world is now finally… accepted, and by someone I admire. 

Then I got scared. Because being real is scary. I just recently started my own blog (Courtney is a HUGE inspiration for this), and even though I do my best to be real and honest, I find that it’s hard. I like to make people smile. I don’t like to start fights, though I’m not one to back down once one has begun. And I constantly want acceptance (see first paragraph). 

I am a new mother – just 7 months in. But my journey as a mother really began back in January at 26 weeks pregnant. Then and there I learned that what you thought you had figured out just… doesn’t happen.

I thought pregnancy would be fun and easy. After all, my mom had 3 super easy pregnancies and so did my sister. I ended up on bed rest at 26 weeks for the remainder of my pregnancy, with 2 hospital visits, each 3-4 days long. I’d do it all over again the same way if I had to, but I didn’t get to “show off” my baby belly. My husband and dog saw it every day, in leggings, in my bed. Because that’s the only place I could be. And those muscles I once had? Totally atrophied. Talk about baby weight!

I thought saying no to pain killers would be easy. Women have given birth without it for centuries, right? I ended up caving in… although I made it to 9cm… not sure why they let me at that point, but the doctor was actually pushing for it (which I’m not too upset about really).

After 12 weeks of bed rest and 37 weeks 6 days of pregnancy, 

we welcomed our little bean into the world

I thought breastfeeding would be easy. Boy, was I wrong. And yet, here we are triumphing! It just took some tears and a lot of work to get us here :)

I thought putting my baby in her crib in a different room would be easy. I thought she’d be a great sleeper. Her momma is, surely she will be. Ha! We’ll save that one for another time… 

I thought I would want to go back to work. I would get bored at home, I thought. It’s good for her to be with other people, I thought. I am back at work, but it hasn’t been easy at all.

I thought “bouncing back” into shape would be easy and that breastfeeding would help. Goodness gracious it is SO NOT EASY. I was very lucky and even though I was on bed rest for the last trimester, I still only managed to gain only 28 pounds, but I was over my “happy weight” to begin with. With that said, I’m not too far away from pre-pregnancy weight, but further away from my ultimate goal than I’d like. And building off of this one…

I thought eating enough for me and for producing enough milk for her would be easy. But sometimes when I lie in bed at 10 pm I’m all of a sudden famished and am hungry enough to eat a whole cow. Well, maybe not a whole cow. But part of one would work I think.

I thought I would know exactly what she wanted and that I’d be able to console her all the time. And yes, for the most part this is true and we’re in sync. But sometimes I just don’t know if she’s teething or tired or sick L

Getting tickled and giggles… all with a runny nose

I thought I’d do everything that everyone wants me to do, just the way I should be. Instead, I don’t always agree with everything, including my own momma. That is a hard pill to swallow since I have always looked up to her and count her as one of my best friends.

I thought that people who cloth diapered were for the birds. I am a crazy recycler… known to take the things home that my office won’t recycle. But I never thought I’d be so pro cloth. Yea… now I use gDiapers and LOVE LOVE LOVE them (end blatant gDiaper promotion).

I thought still giving attention to our dog (our first child, four legs and all), would be easy. Instead the poor guy suffers from what my husband lovingly refers to as NPS, Neglected Puppy Syndrome. We do our best to give him daily walks, pets, and hugs, but I know the attention he used to get would never be the same. I do, however, LOVE watching him interact with Cora and know that they are only beginning their journey of being best friends. 

He’s so good with her :)

I thought I’d definitely be all for date nights and me-time. Instead I feel guilty leaving her. I want alone time with my husband for sure, but I feel guilty for it. Then I feel guilty for feeling guilty for wanting to spend time with my husband alone, because I should want to, right? Catch 22. 

And I thought it’d be all sunshine and rainbows forever and ever. This might not be all true, but there are definitely moments when I am so lost and scared that the rainbow seems so far away. 

Fast-forward to today. I now have a 7.5 month old who has changed my life in every possible way. I have always been emotional, but I look at her and start to cry because of the overwhelming amount of love I have for her and the 12 weeks that her daddy and I were brought closer together as we tried to keep her healthy and in the womb. 

I’ll figure it out. And she’ll be okay, because I love her. Isn’t that all she really needs? LOVE? Everything else will just fall into place. So I’m throwing the plans out the window… tomorrow is another day. Another mountain to climb. Another rainbow to reach.

My real? I’m a scared, flawed mother just trying to do her best and raise my child in this big, bad, scary, but beautiful world. Thank goodness I have an amazing (and handsome!) hubby to help me.    

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Show Your Real is a bi-weekly series of guest posts centered around the concept of authenticity. The goal is to encourage each other to expose the reality of our lives- good and bad- and to foster a sense of community that goes beyond the often suface-cy interactions of social media. We invite all of you to participate! Please comment, link, and hashtag to spread the showyourreal love. If you would like to contribute a guest post in this series, please email me! 

Four Month Finley

Fear not, Finley. Your four month photoshoot was not forgotten!

I actually snapped pics of Fin a few weeks ago, but for some reason (Piper) or another (Finley) I haven't had time to put together the mugshot collage.

We're now under a week to go until she hits five months, so I thought I'd squeeze this in really quick before we're out of order, out of energy and out of time.

Finney-town (a random nickname we gave you a while back that your sister now repeats once in a while) you are loved, so very much. Your milestones may not always make it onto the internet in a timely manner, but you are firmly entrenched in our hearts, all the time. Happy 4th, Fin!

Fixed-up

It's been a while since I've done a fashion related post. Probably because it's been a long while since I wore anything but a nursing tank and sweatpants. Ohhhhh babies. So glamorous.

But Summer's over (so a tank with jean shorts isn't cutting it), and I'm back at work now (so a tank and jean shorts definitely isn't cutting it). And though nursing is helping me shed the pregnancy pounds, I'm not exactly back where I was, or where I want to be, so getting dressed- flatteringly- is still a bit of an art form.  I do have tons of clothes, but I have considerably fewer clothes I'm excited about. And we all know that full closet, isn't the same as a good closet, so I've been in the market for a few pieces that would help me feel excited about getting dressed in the morning. Problem(s) with that? With two kids it's a liiiiiiitle hard to get out to the mall. And even when I did get out to the mall? I found out I hated the mall. I used to be fun to browse around, pile up an armful of goodies and do a dressing room fashion show with my friends. But now any shopping trip I have is squeezed before or after work, or into the briefest of nap-times on weekends, and the entire time I'm out I can hear an imaginary clock ticking telling me I need to wrap it up and get home to the kiddos (only sometimes that imaginary clock is actually a real baby, and the ticking is actually wailing). Plus, trying on clothes when you still feel like you have to hide the leftovers of the kangaroo pouch is not much fun. This size jean is too big, that size is too small, this shirt is too loose, that one is too tight. It's a tall order to dress a postpartum mama, and though I consider myself fairly good at this whole shopping thing (it's kinda my job...) it still isn't my favorite stage to wade through.

So....I decided to outsource it!
Remember StitchFix?

I wrote about them a few times before, and after a bit of a rocky start, I found myself completely addicted. I got seven fixes over the last year, and it started to become an event at work, with people gathering around my desk every time that signature box showed up. I even got a fix or two after I found out I was pregnant with Fin! But once I moved from "adorable bump" to "self-conscious waddle" I took a break from the fashion service, and just stocked up on some mumu's (I kid. But I did hit the Old Navy XL clearance section pretty hard.)

But a few weeks ago I decided it was the perfect time to get back in the game. I've gotten a couple new pieces of clothing since Fin was born, and have come to learn that anything that makes me feel pretty (or thin...or BOTH) is worth its weight in gold. So though we're not exactly swimming in money these days (we're swimming in diapers...which is similar, yet completely different), I am trying to splurge a little to feel good about myself. Nothing crazy, but a new pair of jeans to work while I'm in between sizes, a few new tops that I can nurse in and look presentable at the same time, and an armful of fake gold bangles to make me feel fancy? Yes please!

I updated my StitchFix profile, telling them what I was looking for (and what I wasn't), and scheduled my fix for the week before Piper's birthday. (I mean, I did play a rather large role in all of that...I should get a present too, right?)

And when my magic box of sartorial surprises arrived? It came with the nicest note ever. Never mind the clothes. I'm just in this for the fan mail. (xoxo Jackie!)

People gathered around my cube to see what treasures were enclosed...and I was pleasantly surprised by the options I was given. Not that I don't hope for keepers...I just try to keep my expectations low so I'm not disappointed.

Here's what was included this time around:

I did a quick fashion show at work, and knew there were some definite contenders in the mix. But I needed to try them on at home (and not over my current outfit) to know for sure. 

So I rounded up my peanut gallery, and checked out my fix. 

(And to get a little Show Your Real with you, this was a no-shower day, so I'm rocking a stubby pony, with greased pinned back bangs. And my makeup wasn't exactly holding up. Oh...and our room is a mess, I'm the most awkward selfie taker ever, my bedroom mirror is broken and my eyes are two different sizes. Soooo, yeah. I'm practically a professional StitchFix model. Prepare yourself.)

First up was a blouse that I sort of liked in the box, and then reaaaaally liked on. 

It's blue, which is my weakness, it has a fun print, it makes me feel skinny, and I can nurse in it. That is a lot of wins for one shirt. 

Next? A sweater my coworkers dubbed: The Pitt Cardi (like University of Pittsburgh, not like armpit. It was a compliment). I really liked the colors and the print- but the cut was a little too short for me. It's also a bit more preppy than I normally am but overall was a pretty good try. 

And then...there was a robe. 

Ok, it's a sweatshirt cardigan...with a belt...which is practically a robe if you ask me. Sorry, Jackie. Not a fan. 

Though it did make me look tough (rough?):

Moving on...
This one is pink. And fancy. Which is code for so not me. It's pretty...but just isn't a fit for my lifestyle.(I'm not sure "attempting to survive each day" counts as a lifestyle really, but still.) Back in the box. 

Last...but not even close to least, is this stripey number. 

This....is my jam. The minute I opened the box it started calling my name. Do I own 17 striped grey 3/4 sleeve shirts? Yes. But do I own this striped grey 3/4 sleeve shirt? No! Or should I say: Not yet!

I was pretty much certain I was keeping this guy, but wanted to try a few different things to be sure. I wasn't 100% sold on the hem in the front. It was feeling a little frumpy, and wasn't quite as flattering as I wanted, so I tried tucking it in, which I liked, but didn't love. (And I needed to tighten my belt one more notch, but give me a break...it was a long day...)

So I tried it with shorts, to see if it would be a good match with my summer uniform. 

Still ok, but not knock my (polka dotted) socks off. 

So then I tried it with a scarf rolled up underneath. You know...just in case, somehow, someway, I end up with pregnant belly again someday...

Yesssss. That's the stuff. 

(If Dustin is even skimming this, he is rolling his eyes in exasperated fear, whispering "Too Soon"!)

But in the end, I wasn't completely sold on it, and felt like I could probably find something similar at Forever21 if I was absolutely dying to complete my Striped Shirt Archives. 

So I hemmed and hawed about the whole thing for another day, totally torn on what I wanted to keep (and maxing out the "keep things for 3 days" rule. But I finally went with my gut and kept the blue blouse. It was a bit more than I usually like to pay for a shirt (meaning- it was more than $15) but I really loved it and knew I'd regret it if I sent it back. Again, a little splurge, in order to feel excited about getting dressed in the morning, and look pulled together without trying? Worth it. 

Since then, I've already worn my new top twice; Once for impromptu family photoshoot in the park (It's hiding under another recent "splurge" of mine: a $30 Forever21 jacket I wear every. single. day.) and once the next day. (Because we all know that Sunday/Monday outfits doesn't count as a repeat. Totally different audiences.) If I was a better fashion blogger (or even a fashion blogger at all) I would have thought to take a picture of my outfit...Bonus points for looking off in the distance all thoughtful-like. 

But....I didn't. But when we get the professional pictures back from our park trip, I promise to share (as long as my eyes don't look wonky!)

In the meantime, you should sign up for a fix of your own! If you follow my link, I get referral credit, and you get a box to impress your coworkers, bore your children, and entertain the internet masses. Aw, yeeeeah.

Christmas in November

Halloween is over, (though I still owe you a #costumeweekspooktacular update with our official costumes...I'll get there…someday) so it's time for Christmas right?!? 

Sort of kidding…I actually love Thanksgiving, and totally understand why people get super bent out of shape when it gets skipped in favor of everything Merry. I'm so not one of those people that goes to the stores November 1st to stock up on decorations, (actually I'm one of those people who doesn't get decorations, but my bah-humbug-ness is another topic for another day. The issue this year is that Thanksgiving is super late. Which means we have a ton of time to enjoy the fall season and plan our turkey day, but it also means that if we wait to start Christmas shopping until after Black Friday we won't have much time before Christmas actually arrives.

So while I don't condone skipping one holiday to rush another, I do condone getting your butt in gear, or really my butt in gear, and starting the shopping early.

And on that note: I have to tell you one of the best things about having kids, besides actually having the kids because they're kind of great too, is that Christmas gifts are practically figured out for you. What do grandparents want? Pictures of grandkids. Yes! That knocks out about 8 people on my list. No small feat. And if grandparents are suckers for their grandkids, then parents are suckers for a deal.

So, I'm super excited about a couple of Blurb promotions running right now: 

• Save 20% when you spend $40 or more on print books at Blurb (coupon code: MORESAVINGS)
• Save $25 when you spend $100 or more on print books at Blurb (coupon code: EARLYSAVINGS)

Haven't used Blurb? It's pretty easy, and the results are really professional looking. Check out our past books here. 

Now my biggest task is narrowing down what I'm going to make. I've got a pregnancy journal in the works for Fin already, but that's really a gift for me. I'm also working on a scrapbook of our family vacation from last year…but wait a minute…that's another gift for me. Perhaps I should take a look at their gift center and get some ideas for the other people on my list. (Personalized cookbook? Family scrapbook?)  But something tells me I could just plop in some pics of these crazy mugs, and everyone would be happy.

So while I narrow my options and start the 17 or so books I'm itching to make, go check it out for yourself, save some money, make some grandparents smile.