Category:

love

The One Where The Eldest Turns 8.

by Nellie March 13, 2017

I know I say every single year that I’m not ready for my kids to grow up.

But it’s true, SO true. Probably more true now more than ever.

Josh is now 8 years old. He is incredibly handsome, intuitive, inquisitive, and a complete handful most days. He’s also my little bestie, the kid that tells me how gorgeous I am even when I feel like an ugly duck. Or the child that runs to clear my plate as soon as I have taken my last bite. The one that draws pictures either of me or for me on a daily basis. He has a firm grip on his mama, and it is SO hard yet so exciting to watch him find his own way in this world.

I am very much into birthday parties because as an only child, my mom made sure I had a birthday party EVERY single year. We had very elaborate birthdays in the basement of our home and it was ALWAYS a good time. I feel like I need to keep up now that I have children of my own.

The Art Party

I was all over the place trying to figure out how to celebrate the 8th birthday. We had done so many different themes in the past from gymnastics, to bowling, to Chuck E. Cheese. The insane thing is that we go to a lot of parties every year and the last thing we want to do is repeat so it’s a bit of a puzzle to figure out where to hold a party.
I found Art Studio in Brooklyn via Google. Josh is an artist by nature, he loves everything from painting, to sketching to all of it. This place was like a Paint and Sip for children, they would paint for an hour and have cake and pizza for the second hour.

To be honest, it was a LOT nicer than I expected. I went in a little blind, I had never been to this place before but the Yelp reviews were decent so I decided to roll the dice. When we arrived there was a cute little sign with the birthday boy’s name on it, which made him SO excited.

Fun with Olaf

I had chosen for the kids to do Olaf and when we arrived Olaf had been pre sketched onto each canvas. Pretty brilliant. All the kids had to do was paint.

For the most part the kids did a great job of following directions. The best part was that the teachers would “fix” any mistakes and make the paintings look fantastic. Which was good because I was hella worried for a sec. 🙂

Cake

I got a photo cake done at Lorde’s Bakery for Josh and I absolutely loved the way it turned out. It was beautiful.

He requested a red velvet cake specifically and I am happy to report that it was delish. Some people don’t know how to do red velvet but this was a good one. Worth every penny.

I am REALLY happy with how the party turned out. It was better than I had imagined and went crazy smoothly. I was even able to giveaway the tons of new toys we had from Toy Fair! We have SO many toys in my house it feels like we are drowning so it was nice to give them away (and declutter my house a bit!).

Do you celebrate every birthday differently or do you repeat themes? What is your favorite type of birthday cake?

4 comments

inspiration love run disney running

How Running Changed My Life

by Nellie June 1, 2016

Happy Global Running Day!

Running changed my life so dramatically in the past 2 years or so, now I can’t imagine my life without it. Today I am going to share with you some great running resources, my favorite all time running posts and what running means to me.

If someone told me 4 years ago that I’d not only like running but I’d do it for FUN I would have given them the side eyes of ALL SIDE EYES. Running was always SO hard, I would run 5ks for fun, like The Color Run or running on airport runways, and the next day I’d be SO sore and SO tired and I would vow I’d never run again, but I did. It always had a call on me.

What started with the intense desire to run a 10k, turned into a need to run a half marathon. Somewhere during training for 13.1 I found myself saying very weird things like “I need to go for a run” or “How many miles are on my training plan today?!” to my favorite “OH MY GOSH I JUST RAN 10 MILES!”. It is no longer the hardest thing ever, I am a card carrying member of the back of the pack, and I might even be slower than I was when I started. None of that has changed the intense love that has grown so deeply and SO unexpectedly.

Since starting to train almost exactly 2 years ago I’ve run 11 half marathons, countless 10ks, and even a FULL marathon. (Which I plan on tackling again this year!) I have read countless information, toed the line at countless races, wanted to give up in the middle and thought more than once, maybe running isn’t for me.

But it is.

Consistency and crossing the finish line over and over has built an incredible love of running in my heart that I could NEVER let go of. I will never be first in a race or even in the middle, but something about running brings me joy that I can’t ever imagine living without. A lot of people say running is “not my thing” or “too hard on the knees”. I thought these things once–now look at me. A curvy running junkie with no plans to ever stop.

Resources

Not inspired to get out and run? Check out some amazing posts from fellow runner bloggers all over the web:

Build a Better Runner / Gym Free Workout

5 Sure-Fire Tips to Burn Up Your Next Track Workout

The ‘It Only Gets Easier’ Track Workout

7 Step Treadmill Run

Hill Workout On The Treadmill

3 Hill Workouts to Get Faster and Stronger

8 Essential Strength Exercises for Runners

Tips For Hot Weather Running

Seven Myths Of Marathon Training

5 Hacks That Will Make You Run Faster

[Tweet “Sharing how #running changed my life in 2 short years + Runner Resources! #globalrunningday #runchat”]

My own favorite running posts:

Officially a Marathoner: My 2015 NYC Marathon Recap

5 Awesome Yoga Resources For Runners

5 Tips For New Runners (From An Old One!)

20 Brutally Honest Confessions About Marathon Training

Must Have Running Gear For Curvy Girls

How are you celebrating Global Running Day? Have you ever thought about starting to run?

6 comments

brothers family family fun fun kids fashion love Parenting

The One Where The Boy Turns 6

by Nellie March 12, 2015

I remember last year wondering how did I become of a mother of a 5 year old so fast. This year seems to have gone by even faster and just like that my firstborn is 6!

Since he had a huge party last year (and his little brother had a big party this year) we decided to not have a party and instead go to dinner with immediate family.

Since he loves to dress up you knew I had to make sure he was extra fancy for his birthday celebration. I had purchased this 4 piece Nautica Suit from Macy’s a few months ago and this would be his first time wearing it. The hat I got from Joe Fresh Kids.

His brother was also dressed in Nautica and had his own hat to match as well.

For some reason this kid loves Applebees! We don’t go often, maybe once a quarter but we decided to go for his birthday. We got some balloons, gathered family and had a phenomenal time.

Of course we had to wait for a really long time to seat a party of 9, but I gave the birthday boy free reign of Sasha and here are some of the pics he took (including a tons of selfies with his dad!).

His Godmother (the bestie) also came which made him extra happy because he absolutely adores her.

Finally we were seated and able to eat–and the boy did just that. He ate so much from tortilla chips to mozzarella sticks to pizza he completely had his fill! He never eats like that so I let him indulge for the night. At the end the Applebees staff came and sang him Happy Birthday and he was shocked. I didn’t get a picture but trust me when I say his jaw was dropped at all this people singing for him!

Time is flying so fast! I’m going to have a first grader and a preschooler this year. I can barely deal. I’m excited though because both boys are becoming more mature by the minute asking me all kinds of deep life questions that I’m not even ready for. 🙂

Do your kids like Applebees? Do you go big for every single birthday? Have you ever had a wait staff sing happy birthday to you?

18 comments

brothers love Parenting

The Power of the Boy Child

by Nellie September 25, 2014

A few months ago when I attended BlogHer, I visited a booth by the band The Mrs. who debuted a song called “I’m enough”. The song is amazing, makes you feel good and I really couldn’t have thought of a better place to premiere it than with 3000+ plus blogging women.

Their booth had a fun twist. There was a talking mirror. I wasn’t sure if it was really worth my time. I really didn’t know what this talking mirror was going to tell me but I saw in the twitter stream for #blogher14 that the mirror was life changing. I rolled my eyes in skepticism and went to check it out anyway to see what all the hype was about.

When I got to the mirror, I realized that there was a live person talking to me through my headphones. She could see me but I could not see her. She immediately told me to smile and keep smiling. I don’t know if any of you have ever done this but it is not the easiest thing to look at your smiling self in the mirror, without even breaking eye contact.

She started telling me how beautiful and strong I was, and this hit me at my core because although I believed it, sometimes–I don’t. She then asked me about my children and I told her I had 2 boys, she then told me how much they loved and appreciated everything I did for them. She told me that they thought I was the most beautiful woman in the world, and that their lives centered around me. I had never thought about being the center of anyone’s world but for some reason, this mystery woman with the soothing voice made me look at my boys differently.

My boys love me, with a fierceness that I have never ever seen a child love their parents. I have always known this, of course, but something about the voice in the headphones changed things for me. It was only then that I realized that my eldest son draws pictures of me and me only, multiple times, daily for a reason. With different hairdos and colors, and in different settings. When he finishes, he gives it to me as his gift, his way of thanking me for being his mommy.

Every morning, after I wake up and get dressed my 2 year old comes to me and says “Mommy, you look boodeeful“, a habit he picked up from his older brother that never ever gets old.

I only have boy children. The way they both look at me makes my heart skip a beat. I always saw myself having girl spawn but somehow God had a different plan for me. It may have even taken a stranger with a soothing voice to make me pay close attention to it, but now that I have, I appreciate it more than ever.

22 comments

home decor love Parenting

Easy Home Decor With WeMontage

by Nellie February 23, 2014

Prior to purchasing my home, I was obsessed with HGTV, buying my home was a long brutal process (a story for another post) but what kept me focused was the light at the end of the tunnel. I would get to decorate my own house!

Except it is NOT as easy as it looks on TV. I have done major repairs on the house but decorate? Not so much. I am ashamed to say that three years in and I have LOTS of blank walls. When I was contacted about trying WeMontage I was so excited! I will ~~finally~~ have some much needed Wall Decor!

I can’t deny, I was a little intimidated. I had seen my bloggy friends Tamara and Michelle do such an amazing job with their collages. If you follow their blogs (if you don’t you should!) you know that they are excellent photographers. I mean, stunning, heart grabbing pictures consistently. I like to take pictures as a small hobby but I know I am no where near as talented as they are! I quickly realized that this wouldn’t be a problem as the WeMontage collages make my pictures look pretty amazing too!

I got the change to speak with the Owner and creator of WeMontage, James Oliver. He is extremely nice and ready to help at every turn (though I didn’t need much assistance because the software is very intuitive). This is his creation below and he has the most adorable twins ever!

Choosing the pictures

I knew the pictures would be of my boys. That was a no brainer. Choosing the pictures on the other hand? Hard. I have a bazillion pictures of these kids, how would I pick??

I decided to go with a couple of pictures of them together as well as a several pictures of them on their own. The WeMontage software was extremely intuitive. I added my images, and it automatically put my pictures in a really beautiful collage. I wanted move some pictures and all I had to do was drag and drop. Crazy easy!

Getting the finished product

When I got my collage in the mail I was so excited to unwrap my new wallpaper! The size that I got was 3 feet by 2 ft. Perfect for one of my bare walls, particularly the one next to my dining room table. My husband and I installed the collage and it was super easy to peel and stick. (Make sure you have that level handy!)

And here is what it looks like on the wall near the dining table. I love it! I think what I love most about it was how easy it was to fill up an empty space, I didn’t have to worry about multiple prints in multiple sizes, and don’t even get me started on the frames, and holes in the wall! This is a very simple, easy, beautiful, eye grabbing collage that is easy to install and perfect for anywhere in the house! Now I want one for the boys’ room!

When picture frames fall short and leave you with lifeless spaces, the WeMontage website easily transforms your memorable and inspiring images into removable photo wallpaper. WeMontage empowers its customers to “live beyond the frame.”While not all spaces or moments call for WeMontage, there are undeniable WeMontage moments when: 1) There’s a physical space in which frames fall short (e.g., high traffic area, or kid’s rooms), and 2) There’s a vulnerable moment in which inspiration or comfort are needed (e.g., seniors in a nursing home).

WeMontage is all about emotional connection and inspiration.

Want even more awesome? Use the code “brooklyn” to save 20% off your order!! How cool is that?! Hurry! Offer code expires March 2nd, 2014.

I was provided with a WeMontage product for review, no other compensation was involved.

Are you good at Home Decor? Where would you put your WeMontage collage?

26 comments

Load More Posts