Buckeyes and Babies.

I'm a California native, living in Ohio with my husband and baby girl. This blog was started to document the things I love and other adventures I have in the Buckeye State. Did I mention Buckeyes are also a delicious cookie? Posts are every Monday Wednesday & Friday.

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7 Months Pregnant

I had every intention of sitting down and blogging over the past, cold, holidays. Obviously, that didn’t happen; and once again, I underestimated the exhaustion that comes with pregnancy! I am now 7 months pregnant, with another little turning 2 next month, and our oldest approaching 4 in the spring. With almost three kids, we decided to stay home and not travel for the holidays. It was really…

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A Lot to be Thankful For

A Lot to be Thankful For

Prepping for the holidays always leaves me freefalling into the abyss that is Pinterest. I’m hosting Thanksgiving again this year, and I couldn’t be more excited. It has been a good year for me; I got a new job and found out we’re expecting baby #3. Sophie, Cora, and J have all had accomplishments of their own as well, and I am excited to celebrate those small victories with family. I know I’ve…

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Life Update

It feels like years have passed since I last posted! It also feels like whenever I do post now, it is just for a quick update! Well, such is the life of a mother. Unexpected, busy, and messy. I’ve taken a part time job as one of our county’s sexual assault advocates. As you can imagine this is hard work, and can demand a lot of decompression time after a training or shift. So far, I haven’t had…

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How PPD made me lose control.

How PPD made me lose control.

I know, this title makes you think “the devil made me do it,” but some thing I had to discover when struggling with postpartum depression was that, it wasn’t my fault. This was some thing that happened to me, not a reflection of me. So many women, present company included, think that the symptoms of this condition are a reflection of themselves and their character, when in reality what they’ve…

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I’ve been DIYing, and digging through antique stores for more items for the house. We’ve officially been here over a year, and may of the walls are still bare. This is a significantly bigger place than our last house, so what we had previously owned wasn’t enough to full furnish and decorate this house. Little by little we’ve been adding pieces.

Gallery walls are my go-to right now, as the lend themselves to being rearranged and added to. I hope the never go our of style, because I have more than 1 wall with a cluster of different items and images.

We also replaced an old florescent light that used to hum in the kitchen with these gorgeous pendants. Overall I am happy with the look of our home, and I feel like it blends a lot of different styles. We have rustic pieces, industrial, and even modern touches that reflect our interests.

  Home Decor Update I've been DIYing, and digging through antique stores for more items for the house. We've officially been here over a year, and may of the walls are still bare.

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Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

I’ve been slacking in the recipe department, so I thought I would share a recipe for my father-in-laws favorite cookies, chocolate thumbprints. I’ve attempted to make these for him every Father’s day for the past 3 years, and I could never quite get the flavor right. This recipe is a keeper though, as it is has the closest taste to the cookies he loves from the bakery. Sophie loved helping me…

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Summer Trips: Pittsburgh Zoo

Summer Trips: Pittsburgh Zoo

Before we had gotten married, Justin and I took a trip to the zoo, so it was pleasantly nostalgic to take our kids there. We usually take a big vacation in the spring or summer with my in-laws, but this year we decided to give ourselves a break (vaycays with kids are hard work!) and just do little day trips on the weekends. It was completely crowded and a little hectic, but the girls enjoyed…

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Leaps and Bounds

Some times I feel like I’ve made no progress; like I am still that woman who, when she looked at her children felt nothing. Even when they were pleasant and smiling, every neuron in my brain was telling me to run and I didn’t know why. Was is because I was a “bad mom”? Was it because I just wasn’t cut out for family life? Ever since I hit puberty I had been daydreaming of a husband walking…

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Consolation

About a year ago, I suffered through a pretty intense trauma that scarred both me and my entire family. Part of me can’t believe that I haven’t composed a post since Easter, and the other part of me sees that I stepped out of the spotlight for awhile to take care of myself during the anniversary of when I received this wound. The good news is, I successfully made it through the flashbacks, the…

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Holy Week

As Catholics, Holy Week is a very important, reflective time for us. Of course, Easter preparations are underway, and we even had an early egg hunt. However,  we try not to let the joy of Easter come prematurely. I know, that last sentence totally hammers home the Catholic guilt and our infatuation with suffering, right? Well the truth is, without Good Friday, the day we fast and reverently…

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Spring

Even though the past few days have been dreary (gearing up for April showers, and all that…) We are still trying to make it outside during the small intercessions of sunshine. This winter was tough for numerous reasons, so I am pleased and relieved to see Spring on the horizon. We are tying to hit the potty training a little harder with Sophie so she will be totally comfortable to use the…

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Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

I tried dieting and cutting out cookies and other treats… that just led me to crave and then binge on said treats. My new plan is to simplify and make healthy a few treats that I can enjoy in moderation. These oatmeal cookies hit the spot, are gluten free, and contain less sugar than your average cookie. What I used: 1 stick of butter at room temp 1 egg 1 bag of Pamela’s oatmeal bar mix 1/2 c.…

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I'm Back!

I’m Back!

My last post was on self-care which is ironic because we slowly slipped into a week of unhealthiness. The kids got sick with various ailments, one of which led Cora and I to urgent care on Sunday morning, and we definitely indulged in some early Easter treats and sloth. I don’t think the latter did our immune systems any favors, so now that we are on the mend I am recommitted to the health and…

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Self-Care

Every once in awhile I take time to write on self-care. In this fast paced life, it is hard to slow down to take care of ourselves. Self-care is viewed as sloth, when in reality, it is the practice that helps us work harder and longer. A few of my close friends and I were talking about self-care in terms of a gas tank. Motherhood can often leave our tanks on empty, so going out to get our hair…

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Sophie was my independent, introverted child, who was content to go in her tee-pee and play by herself while I did my chores. This drastically influenced my expectations for how children behaved, and I was completely jarred when Cora began crying and holding on to my legs as I did dishes. This is when people began baby-wearing to me. I know I have written on it several times, but I just received this gorgeous Oscha in the mail today and so I wanted to reflect on how baby-wearing has helped me bond with both Cora and Sophie this year.

Cora’s dependence on my close proximity emphasized to Sophie just how independent she really is. However, this led Sophie into a slight regression. All the sudden she wanted to be held too. Just as I was selling off my carriers, I found myself in need of them again. So, I bought this beautiful ring sling in colors that reminded me of sunsets where I grew up in California. I still needed some thing to carry Sophie in though. I had spent a pretty penny on my slings and couldn’t afford another carrier, until a dear friends gave me a carrier for toddlers. Sophie has been happy to ride on my back while I make dinner or do chores when Cora is sleeping. I’m hoping this will re-instill her trust and confidence that I will always be there for her, even when life gets busy, or if I have multiple children to juggle.

  Carrying 2 Kids Sophie was my independent, introverted child, who was content to go in her tee-pee and play by herself while I did my chores.

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I have to say, I think I out-did myself. Not only was our downstairs perfectly decorated for this party theme, but it cost us next to nothing. PBS kids website had lots of great, thrifty ideas in addition to having free printables with Daniel and his friends on them. We made a trolley out of a diaper box, tissue paper, and a template from PBS, and we also made tissue poms and felt crowns with supplies from the dollar store. We strategically placed printables to go with these items, and they really complemented each other.

Food was another great way to tie in the theme. I had purchased orange candy melts for Cora’s cake already, so I decided to also use some for making “tiger tails” an idea I saw on pinterest. Speaking of pinterest, I had seen around Halloween that people were drawing on clementines to make them look like jack-o-lanterns. Well, I thought you could use the same concept to make them look like tigers. It was a big hit with the kids. Then there was the cake itself, which is what I am most proud of.

It was a little crazy with 10+ kids in the house, but it was also crazy fun! It was my pleasure to host some of the awesome kids who have played so nicely with Sophie and Cora over the past year, and also to create an environment where the parents could relax a little too. We have made so many more “parent friends” in the past year and it has been invaluable. We need people who understand, and who can help us in our current life situation. Every one who came to Cora’s party had helped us in our time of crisis this year, and it was really rewarding to get to celebrate with them all. Cue Daniel’s “A Neighbor Is Here To Help,” song…

Daniel Tiger Birthday I have to say, I think I out-did myself. Not only was our downstairs perfectly decorated for this party theme, but it cost us next to nothing.

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Cora Update: 12 Month

Cora Update: 12 Month

Are we really here? Did we actually make it? There were some days that I honestly wasn’t sure if Cora and I would make it to the 1 year mark. Maybe that sounds dramatic to some of you, but as some one who has sincerely, and painfully, struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety, these fear felt very real to me. Cora is such a bright and happy soul. Her smile lights up a room and she ignites…

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