in our home :: iowa vacation

We were totally itching to get back to Iowa to see my family for awhile now. Especially since my parents have bought (and moved into) a new home. It's been over a year since we had been back and we figured it was time to bite the (money) bullet and take the whole family for a week.

Here's our trip in review...

1) Thank you Allegiant Airlines for flying direct to Cedar Rapids, IA. You've made my flying life significantly easier.... especially with two little ones.

2) Nora was all smiles upon entering the plane and flying on an airplane. She LOVED it.

3) I just had to swing by my parents old home (the one I grew up in) and take a quick picture. For memories sake (tear).

4) And this is their new place. Their new place is a perfect home to host family and friends in and to grow old in. There will be so many memories made in this home - we loved it!

1), 2), 3) & 4) Despite it being a very mild winter, we were super stoked to have one of the few snowfalls happen while we were there! And Nora was even more excited than we were! I can't get this girl to wear a coat in AZ (too restrictive I guess?) but as soon as she heard that in order to play outside in the snow she'd need to wear snow pants, boots, coat, hat and gloves, she was all about it.

Alan spent hours outside with Nora - building snowmen, sledding, throwing snowballs - all of the fun things you can do in snow (and not in the desert).

I unfortunately played outside for a total of 10 minutes before landing the sled (which Nora and I were both on) on the corner of a step. To my embarrassment (and everyone else's humor) this little "accident" landed me in the ER with a broken tailbone.

Let's just say I was thankful for the pain meds and inflatable donut for the remainder of a trip.

If you'd like the extended version of the story you'll have to call me. It was actually pretty hilarious. Let's just say the extended version includes three pairs of ripped pants, blood, frozen peas, my dad taking me to the ER and the ER Dr. telling me "Looks like you broke your a**!" Good times.

**Note for all of you mommy readers - don't break your tailbone. Just don't do it. It's amazing how dependent you are on it when it comes to caring for children :(

1) & 2) Alan and I spent one of the days we were in Iowa traveling to Ames - where we met 10 years ago (aww...). This was the first time we had been on Iowa State's campus since graduating so it was a wonderful treat to drive and walk the campus and see all of the changes that have since happened. We loved the four years we spent at ISU.

In all honesty it kinda made us want to go back to college. We had such incredible memories in Ames.

3) & 4) We were also able to meet up with some friends for the afternoon and evening. Brian and Allie are two of our dearest college friends. We had a little double date with them in downtown Des Moines. So. Much. Fun.
Love you Allie!

And these are my wonderful parents with the girls! We couldn't appreciate and love these two more than we do! What a blessing it was to spend a full week in their home.

We also spent s significant amount of time seeing other family members that live in the area(ish) - both sets of my grandparents drove to Mt. Vernon for a few days, my aunt Peggy was in town for a day, and my uncle Mike and cousin Matt flew in to see the girls for a day as well.

1) & 2) Here we are at happy hour with my brother, Erik, and his wife, Amy. Buy one get one free drinks? Yes please!

Every minute we spend with these two makes us want to live closer.

3) & 4) And then it was time to go home (boo).

It was an awesome trip! Definitely one of those trips that makes you miss "home."

Thanks mom and dad for your incredible hospitality and generosity. We love you!

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sister comparison pic | 10 months

It's been 5 months since I did a sister comparison pic (insert tired mommy sigh).

Elsie is growing up so fast. I just wish I could bottle up all of this cuteness and keep it around for another few years. I'm already thinking about (aka : just started a Pinterest board for Elsie Birthday Party ideas) this little girl's One Year Birthday Party!

Many of you have asked me if Elsie is different than Nora, and if so, in what ways.

Here's what I've discovered (so far in her 10 short little months of life)...

• Elsie is VERY sensitive. A stern "NO!" makes this little peanut bust out in tears. This isn't so much the case with Nora.
• Elsie is not spirited. Nora is the poster child for spirited children.
• Elsie's energy level is pretty middle-of-the-road where Nora is bouncing off the walls (on most occasions).
• At Elsie's 9 month appointment she weighted in at 16 lb 12 oz. Nora at 9 month was 20 lb 12 oz. A whole 4 lb difference.
• Elsie isn't the best sleeper. Nora has always slept like a champ.
• Elsie has already consumed more meat in the past 10 months than Nora has EVER consumed. Really.
• Elsie's little tummy just doesn't really like dairy. Which essentially means we buy her very expensive formula - boo. Nora probably could have drank milk straight from a cow. :)

All in all they are two very different little girls but both exactly who God created them to be and we love them both so very dearly.

Till next time...

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Steph's Pick :: Postagram & Sincerely Ink Apps

Looking for a way to simplify your life? Aren't we all?!

Since being introduced to the wonderful world of apps on my iphone just 6 months ago, I've found some amazing make-my-life-so-much-easier apps.

Two of these specific apps are Postagram & Sincerely Ink. Both of these apps have greatly helped reduce the time it takes for me to send snail mail (and you all know I love me some snail mail).

With Postagram you can brighten someone's day with a postcard you've created using Postagram and a photo - either one you take with the app or snap from your phone's library or even Facebook. The app is free and the postcard is only $0.99.

So easy.... and so cheap.

Get the free Postagram app for iPhone or Android HERE. {Sign up using my link and we both get one Postagram postcard free!}

Sincerely Ink is very similar. Sincerely Ink allows you to choose from their 30+ card designs and include photos from your phone (if you'd like) and customized text.

Sincerely Ink postcards are 5x7 in size and very high quality. Like Postagram, the Sincerely Ink app is free and the cards are $1.99 (which includes shipping).

Happy App "Shopping"! ;)

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In Our Home :: These Days

I'll be honest... I think I post these posts simply for my own pleasure. Isn't that what mommy-blogging is really about anyway?

There's just something about the simple (and in some cases mundane) moments of family life. I'm so very thankful that I'm able to capture them in photos as I know I'll be looking at them 20 years from now and wishing back these days. :)

In Our Home :: These Days ....

We're not huge Valentine's Day people but because I love me a good party I figured I'd throw a little play date party for some of our friends.

1) I printed out this little sign that I found thanks to Pinterest! (aw... gotta love Pinterest) Print your own sign here.

2) Nothing says "I Love You" better than a fresh donut from Rainbow Donuts!

3) I made it a point to take pics of all of the mommies and their kids at our Valentine's Day play date. I very rarely get a picture with both of the girls and am so thankful to have this one from this past Feb 14th.

4) Like I said in this post - I was a little late in planning for a "gift" for the girls to give Alan this Valentine's Day. In a last ditch effort I designed this "I Love Daddy" card up really quick for all of the kids to color at our party.

1) Go Cyclones! This is just a random Saturday when the girls were cheering on ISU from afar!
2) & 3) We are LOVING this warm weather and spend lots of time at our local parks. Thank you Arizona!

4) Some friends and I co-hosted a Sip & See for my sweet friend Brittany a couple weeks back. This is my new favorite way of celebrating Baby #2 in a casual party setting. Wine, Dessert and Baby - Love it!

1) & 2) I can't say it enough... I LOVE my Mommy Planning Mornings.

3) & 4) Nora has been very excited about the possibility of flying a kite these days. So much so that every morning she upon going outside she'll ask if it's windy so we can fly a kite :)

These are a couple pics from Family Kite Flying Take 1. We were too lazy to walk to the park and ended up flying the kite in the street (probably not a good idea... just so you know). Thankfully we had a super windy day just yesterday and took the kite to the park for Family Kite Flying Take 2. It was a huge hit with Nora (and a pretty decent workout for Alan actually). Definitely worth the $10!

...till next time....

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@AlanandSteph on Twitter

I'm actually on Twitter.... can you believe it??? :)

Now this isn't my "maiden voyage" on the Twitter scene. You see I actually tweet from 4 accounts now. Yes... that's right....four! @Family_Matters, @CityMomsBlog, @ScottsdaleMoms

and now @AlanandSteph. I guess that's what happens when you work in social media!

If you're on Twitter , follow @AlanandSteph pretty please!

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Potty Training 101 | Top 5 Potty Training Tips

As I mentioned in the most recent In Our Home post, we embarked on our version of "Adventures in Potty Training" in mid-January.

Did I really want to potty train Nora? NO! Honestly, I secretly wish potty training was an optional parenting activity.

Unfortunately as we all know, it's not. So potty train is what we did!

Before getting started I did some research into various potty training techniques and decided on using the 3 Day Potty Training ebook guidelines (thanks Sarah for the recommendation).

Of course, like with so many things in parenting, not everything was covered in the book. I wish it worked that way but unfortunately it just doesn't.

So in an effort to "give-back" to the online mommy community, I thought I'd add a few of my Mommy Potty Training Tips to help encourage those of you who will be potty training in the near (or not so near) future.

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Steph's Top 5 Potty Training Tips ::

1) Find another "Mommy SOS Friend" who has recently potty trained a child.

I had NO idea how important it was going to be for me to be able to text and/or call a friend who has "been-there-done-that."

Thankfully I had a couple of friends who immediately texted me back when we were 2 hours into the potty training experience and I was ready to throw in the towel.

Find someone who has potty trained a child within the last few years that can encourage you in the very tiring process of potty training. It will be a huge blessing to you... I promise.

2) 25-30 pairs of underwear is not a joke.

Upon reading that I'd need 25-30 pairs of panties/underwear for our 3-day potty training adventure, I literally laughed. In my mind I figured that I do laundry at least once a week so even if she went through 2 pairs/day I wouldn't need more than 14 for the week.

Let's just say Nora wet all 14 pairs of underwear in the first 2 hours on day 1.

Lesson learned. You'll need 25-30 pairs. Really.

3) Potty Training can be VERY discouraging (especially the first 2 days).

This is something I wasn't aware of, but I learned quite quickly. Rather than have unrealistic expectations, I figure I'd rather you know the truth.

Alan and I literally went to bed after Day 1 and asked one another "Why are we doing this?!"

Rather than get discouraged, and worse yet - to show your discouragement to your child in the middle of potty training - always remember that your job as a mommy during these days is to be as encouraging as possible.

Yes - that means a potty dance. Yes - that means a potty song. You'll be the official potty training cheerleader of the family for weeks (which makes tip #5 all that more important)

Just know that you'll more than likely be discouraged at first, but your child will get it... eventually.

4) Plan on getting take-out (or making pre-made freezer meals).

Although this is covered in the ebook, it was a suggestion (much like the 25-30 pairs of panties) that I thought was a little extreme.

Not so much.

In an effort to minimize the distractions during the first 3 days of potty training, it is suggested that you plan on getting take-out or that you have something in the freezer that you can make that takes little to no effort on your part.

Let's just say we had more take-out than we've ever had in our 7 years of marriage during those 3 potty training days. It was a necessity.

5) Awake before your children and allow enough time to shower and have a cup of coffee.

I'm a huge advocate of rising before your children (as I posted about in more detail in the post Mommy Planning Mornings). But take it from the mommy who happened to forget to set her alarm on Day 1 of Potty Training - you're going to need to at least feel like you've beat everyone to the punch when potty training.

A shower and a hot cup of coffee will do wonders on these days.

Bonus Tip :: Get yourself a Boon Potty.

This suggestion is mostly because I just like the Boon Potty so much.

And today could very well be your lucky day! Scottsdale Moms Blog is giving away a Boon Potty to one lucky reader. And you don't even have to live in Scottsdale to win!

Click HERE to see how you can sign up for your chance to win!

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Post-Potty Training Update ::

Thankfully Nora did great those first 3 days and we're currently almost 100% potty trained. She does very well when we're home but it's when we're out that she has a harder time.

My guess is that the accidents when we're out can be attributed to a combination of her high energy personality mixed with her desire to be with people (and not miss out on anything).

It was a long road but we made it (and are making it). And you can to!

Is there anything I'm forgetting? Comment below with any additional tips you might have that will help any readers who are looking for potty training advice.

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DIY Valentine's for Daddy

Ah.....Valentine's Day.

We're not into doing a ton for Valentine's Day but I do try and make it a little special at least. Unfortunately my mommy brain has been in full throttle lately (aka:: I can't seem to remember much of anything) which means that today I woke up in a slight panic because I had yet to put together anything for the girls to give their daddy. (Oops!)

Thankfully I quickly designed these "I love Daddy" Valentine's Day cards this morning and thought I'd share the love! :) Just in case any of you are in the same boat.

I printed them out and attached them to card stock and plan on having Nora color hers this afternoon at a little Valentine's Day party I'm hosting for a couple of her little friends.

Pin it. Print it. Love it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

{Oh and yes - for those of you who saw this Definition of Love that I designed last week for the Family Matters Blog - I'm a bit in love with chevron print right now - I apologize if you're not so in love with it.)

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Top 5 Tips for Taking Small Children to Disneyland

As you may or may not have seen, we took Nora and Elsie to Disneyland back in December as our Christmas gift to them. You can read more about our trip in our post-Disney highlight post.

Now some of you "I-remember-everything-type people" probably recall that in that post I mentioned that I'd be writing a Top 5 Tips for Taking Small Children to Disneyland post. Well I'm proud (and ashamed all at the same time) to say that I'm FINALLY getting around to posting my tips.

Better late than never, right?! ;)

So let's get to it.

Steph's Top 5 Tips for Taking {Small} Children to Disneyland ::

1) Be Flexible. The ability to be flexible in life is HUGE - especially when you have children in tote.

In preparation for our trip I read a number of Disneyland blog posts (I even read most of the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland - thanks mom and dad) and spoke with all of my friends and family who have been to Disneyland in the past. I had a plan in place and everyone was going to stick.to.the.plan. Typical Type A, first born kind of stuff.

Well - as I'm sure many of you who are snickering behind your computer screens have guessed - trips like these NEVER go as planned.

When planning your trip to Disneyland (with small children that is) be sure to keep in mind that flexibility is going to be your best friend. Not only that but it is going to make your trip 10x more enjoyable.

Just to give you a taste of what flexibility at Disneyland means....here are just a few things to consider...

• Your kids may or may not take a nap. So what!
• One of your kiddo's may or may not have a meltdown in the Toy Story Mania ride line while 100's of people watch it all unfold (yes - 100s).
• You may end up riding the Tea Cups and the Carousel 10+ times when you (personally) would rather try something new.
• You may need to cave and let your kids eat more junk food than normal. Lollipops will come in extremely handy when waiting in a long line with a tired toddler.

2) Pack lots (and lots) of food. Unless you're able to drop a couple hundred dollars for food at the park you'll want to pack lots of food and drink options.

Although park officials do check your bags and purses before entering the park, we never once had any problems with the food and beverages we brought in. Stick to non glass items and you should be good to go.

3) If possible, reserve a hotel suite. Upon booking our hotel room at the Embassy Suites, we had no idea how brilliant of an idea it was to book a suite until we were actually staying there.

Now I'm sure a regular hotel room would have been just fine, but because we were in a suite, we were able to use the living room area during the times when the girls were sleeping to read, watch TV and/or chat with one another. It was a great blessing.

Not only did we love the actual room but specifically the Embassy Suites offers a hot made-to-order breakfast every morning. Thankfully this saved us a decent amount of money as we all had a large yummy breakfast each morning before heading out to the park.

4) Take full advantage of the Baby Swap and Fast Pass options.

Rather than describe these to you in this post, I'll give you a few links that will help explain these two services that will be a great treat for you as you navigate Disneyland with little ones.

Read about the Disneyland Fast Pass Service here.

Read about the Disneyland's Baby Swap/Switching Off Service here.

5) Label your Children. Upon reading this suggestion on a number of other websites I was at first skeptical but after thinking about it more, I realized how genius of an idea it was.

Essentially it's suggested that you write your child's name along with your name and cell phone number on a piece of tape that you attach to the inside of your child's shirt. That way if your child does get lost, a Disney Cast Member is able to quickly get in touch with the child's caregiver.

Brilliant, right?! At the very least it helped give this mommy a piece of mind.

**Bonus Tip** ::

Bring a few adult beverages for drinking during nap-time and after bed-time. You're going to need them! :)

Is there anything I'm forgetting? Comment below with any additional tips you might have that will help any readers who are planning their own Disneyland trips.

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