Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Parenting

Parenting is truly one of the hardest things to do in life. And I've learnt that you never really appreciate your own parents until you have your own children. You also begin to see a lot of your deepest darkest sins come to the surface. Like selfishness, need for control, greediness, need I go on? 

I'm sitting here writing this as I watch my own child grab her daddy's whisky flask off the shelf with a can of pringles. Am I going to stop her? Probably not. She's determined, stubborn, extremely strong willed and I get so much joy out of watching her explore and try to figure out how things work and her mischievous nature come into play. She's a great sleeper (and I know mum's hate to hear that from other mum's!) BUT the reason she sleeps great is because she EXHAUSTS herself all day. Anyone that has watched her knows exactly what I'm talking about. She is so incredibly full of energy that I often find myself looking at the clock saying "is it bed time yet??" and I see it's only 3pm. 

We have number 2 coming in January so I have just started introducing the potty to Lily. Of course every mum hopes her child will be the one that takes to it like duck to water, and within three days they're out of diapers and proudly in their big girl underwear. Lily will not be that child. I found her this morning eating her cereal out of her potty, so it's going to take some time here. I actually thought we had a break through the other morning when she'd come into bed with me (hubs was on a camping trip) and I'd taken her diaper off. She jumped out of bed shouting "bye bye ma". Next thing she comes running in shouting "poo poo! poo poo!" So I jump out of bed thinking oh my yes, my daughter is one of the dream kids! She's done her first poop in the potty. Oh what was I thinking?! She takes my hand and leads me into her bedroom not the bathroom and she shows me her poop, on the rug, under the bed, beside her kitchen, on her books. So we still have some learning to do here. 

Parenting is one of those things you can never be prepared for. And there are days where you just have to throw your hands in the air and just laugh. For a while I tried to be the everything wife and mother; keeping my home pristinely clean and in shape, having culinary dinners on the table, exhaustively trying to set a schedule for Lily. And I just fell apart, I was exhausted, I wanted constant affirmation from my husband, I wanted a pat on the shoulder for being such a good wife and mother. I was not enjoying life, I was becoming a major control freak. Then things happen, like Lily pulls all her diapers out of her diaper pail and smears the contents in her hair and on the floor, or she pulls out the eggs thinking they're soccer balls and throws them around the kitchen, or I find my car keys in the trash can, or I find cucumber pieces behind my ear, or I find her cleaning the toilet with her dad's toothbrush. The list goes on! But I can't control these things, and I don't want to. She's a toddler, she's curious, she's figuring things out and I need to pick my battles. I can't always be fighting my children.  There has to be a balance. 

I'm learning to see things through my daughters eyes and to have more fun with this stage of life we're all in. I'm learning to let go of the control and trust in the creator that made her. I love my daughter and the laughs that she brings to our lives everyday. She is constant entertainment. And I can't wait to see what our next little one will be like. 





Thursday, November 13, 2014

Christmas Gift Guide

It's coming round fast! The most wonderful time of year....
Christmas!
I am not known for my timeliness with gift giving, in fact my little brother is still waiting on his birthday present, and his birthday was in August.
So I always freak out a little bit when it comes to Christmas because I've got to ship so many of our gifts overseas. So I like to make sure I get my skates on pretty early and start planning out gifts. 
There's always going to be that person who leaves you stomped when it comes to gift giving. Mother in laws are in their own category of tricky! 
So I have compiled a list of gifts that I think are quite universal and could appeal to various tastes and desires. 


1. Laptop cover. I highly recommend Etsy for finding gifts a little different. This shop has some lovely things for sale. 
2. Letter mugs are always great basis for a gift. You can use a little creativity with this one, add a little hot chocolate mix, tea collection, gift card etc. 
3. Men's Touchscreen gloves. Not only are they incredibly warm, they can also allow your hubs/Dad/brother/uncle to play on his phone!
4. Pie server. I got to say Anthropologie has come out amazing in terms of gifts this year. They have a multitude of things that would be wonderful gifts, jewelled headbands, cuddly toys, wine glasses etc. 
5. Who doesn't love a new lip gloss!? And this Marc Jacobs one is simply beautiful. 
6. Perhaps a snuggle new blanket covered in polka dots would make someone on your list warm and happy? 
7. As a parent one of the best gifts I/we can get is a night of free babysitting :) Treat your friends with babies/children to a night that will cost you nothing (maybe some snot and lots of rolling on the ground) but will mean the world to your friends! 
8. As a true Irish lassie, I love my tea so when I saw this I thought what a perfect gift for all those tea drinkers! 
9. I love this. I think it's perfect for anyone. Who doesn't need a laptop stand in the shape of a cutting board?!


Wednesday, October 8, 2014

(Pin)Inspiration

What would we do without Pinterest in our lives? I have got so many wonderful ideas from it for my wedding, nursery ideas, baby showers, 
home decor and most of all recipes!
There are soooo many amazing recipes on there. All I have to do is type in "chicken slow cooker" and BOOM up pops lots of little photos of delicious chicken! 
Here are some of my favourite recipes I've discovered, tried, tested and loved from Pinterest.

Just like the title says, this really is the best bbq chicken. It's so easy, so delicious
and such a versatile meal. AND bonus, it's really good the next day.

Again, this is so easy and so delicious. This is actually tonight's dinner.
I've stuck mine in the slow cooker but it tastes the same.
And of course I'll be having three types of potatoes with it :) 
This, THIS is by far my most favourite thing to make for dessert.
It lasts for days! If you can let it last that long. It is so moist, so flavorful, so so GOOD!
Go, GO, GO make this now and you will NOT regret it! 

And lastly, pure decadence. Most of my friends know that lemon is probably my favourite
thing to have in a sweet. Lemon cake, lemon bars, lemon pie. LOVE
My hubby knew this and just before we started dating he would bring my lemon cake and a chai latte
just as a "oh I was stopping to get a latte for myself so I thought I'd bring you something" gesture. He would
be going to the library on campus (Mmm hmmm yea I don't think so!) and would just happen to walk by
the mailroom where I use to work. Love him!

Thursday, October 2, 2014

My Little Family

I'm just going to take a moment to love and gush over my little family here. 
Lily turned one on September 9th and when I look back over her first year of her life it's amazing all that has happened.
And we've survived! All three of us! 
She was born in September, by Christmas she had already flown to Texas and to Ireland. We lost a dear dear friend in that time too, so along with figuring out life with a newborn we were also thrown into this emotional abyss of grief and sadness. Hubby then took a call to a new Church in Maine and we moved May 1st. In the last 5 months we have had 8 sets of visitors come to stay with us. I have so much enjoyed having people stay with us because I'm so much of a people person and I love entertaining! But it has been one busy year for our little family!
I look at Lily now as she is pulling all her bottles out of the cupboard, oh and yes there goes the food processor now. Soon she'll discover there are Oreos hidden in there too. She is so inquisitive and always exploring. It's so fun to watch her personality develop and see what kind of person she's becoming. She's always ALWAYS full of energy and loves people. She's an incredibly social child. I am so interested to see how this plays out as she gets older.

My parents were just here and it gave us an opportunity to get some nice snaps of Lils and our family.








Saturday, April 12, 2014

Outfit Obsession

Pastels have become one of my favourite colour palettes. And now that the sun has come out and decided to stay a while, 
I feel it's time for some Spring colours in my wardrobe to come out too. 
I love Spring. It's one of my favourite seasons!
And that's partly because I can break out the bright and sunny clothes! Annnnnd it's an excuse to add some new Springy clothes to my wardrobe!
Here are some of my fave outfits I'm using for inspiration these days.





Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Neck Warmth

Oh boy do I love scarves! I have a ridiculous collection of scarves. So much so that they're stuffed in boxes scattered all over our apartment because I don't have enough closet space for them. Hubs goes a little crazy when he opens a box and sees there are yet more scarves stuffed in it. I can't help myself. Scarves add so much to an outfit whilst keeping you cozy and warm. My philosophy - the bigger the better. Anthropologie always has a great selection of scarves but they always go on sale so don't impulse buy just yet! Gap also has some great scarves that are really versatile. Just check these styling lassies and their scarves out!





Monday, March 3, 2014

Our Big Move

Our little family is moving! To Portland, Maine!
The land of LL Bean, lots of snow and lots of lobster!
My husband has accepted a call to be a solo pastor of a church
in Portland and we are so excited!
We have such a flurry of emotions swirling through us right now; excitement, nerves, happiness, sadness but we know with certainty
this is where the Lord is leading us. 
Philadelphia has been the only American home I've known so it will be a big adjustment, and we have an incredible community of friends and "family" here. Saying goodbye will be
difficult and will definitely pull at the heart strings.
But we have such peace in our hearts and we know
this is the next chapter of our lives. 
Our pastor Terry, who passed away just before Christmas,
had put Sean's name forward. 
And he prayed, laughed, encouraged, cried and loved us
throughout the beginnings of this journey. 
My heart breaks that he isn't here to wave us off out of Glenside on to this next chapter of our lives.
But I know he is rejoicing, crying and laughing in heaven. 
We're excited to see what's in store for our little family in this next stage of life and to dip our toes into some snowy sports. I'm planning on finally shooting a deer much to the hubs dismay. 
So pray for us and come visit us!