5ive on Friday: Life Currently

If you get my 5ive reference.... "Did we just become best friends?" Back in an earlier life, I saw 5ive in concert when they were the openers for NSYNC. My friend and I studied all the dance routines from their concert special on Disney Channel. If you remember when Disney Channel used to air full concerts of all the greats (NSYNC, B*Witched, 98 Degrees, Britney Spears) then we just jumped from best friends to soulmates. The GOOD OLD DAYS people!

Ok back to the actual post. I am working on some top secret new projects related to this here blog, but they are slow moving right now because family always comes before work for me. But I promise they are coming soon! In the meantime, here are five things we have been up to lately:

1. In my last life update post, I talked about how I was getting ready for the Just Between Friends kids consignment sale. I have sold a lot of Myles' old stuff on Facebook, consignment stores, etc. but I still had most of his 2t-3t clothes and a ton of books/movies/toys that he recently outgrew pilling up in our garage. We talked about having a garage sale, but we really didn't have anything else to sell besides Myles' things. So when I got an email about the upcoming sale I thought why not give it a try. I plan on doing a whole post just on the process/results of the sale, but I did get my check back this week and wanted to quickly share that. Without going in to too much detail yet, I would say that in this particular instance, the money was well worth the time/effort put into selling at JBF.   

 2. My mom had took time off of work for a vacation to Florida she was planning with my step-dad, but my step-dad got a new job and couldn't take the time off to go with her. So sad right.... well not for me because I got asked to be the new travel buddy! We were going back and forth for a week or so deciding where to go, and then one night my mom sends me this email:

I'm so excited I don't even know how to act. It still feels not real to me, so I will probably not freak out until I am actually on the plane. The longest I have ever been away from Myles is like 8 hours (a couple different times), so I am a bit anxious about that. I know he will be fine and this is a much needed vacation, but I still will miss him dearly! It may sound crazy to non-parents, but a lot can change in just four days when we are talking about toddlers. T-minus 3 weeks!

 

3. I am currently in the process of changing Myles' room. We kept his blue and brown geometric nursery decor for 2 years. We moved into a new house just weeks before Myles turned 2, so I figured it was the perfect time to change the theme. I decided to go with dinosaurs (some dinosaur DIYs) just because it was the most timeless/neutral theme we both liked. That lasted about another two years, until it was time for a big boy bed. I could tell his convertible toddler bed wasn't going to last much longer and we just happened to have an extra full mattress that wasn't being used. So another perfect time to change the theme. I always try to convince him of something that he isn't going to grow out of within a couple months (toddlers change their likes pretty often!) and this time we chose 'outer space'! I love it because it is teaching him and it's fun! I have a ton of DIYs that I am working on and will be posting when they are finished, but for now here is his bed:

Target Pillowfort collection for the win!

4. We have been steadily adding to our smashed penny collection! I have always been big on 'life experiences/memories over things/stuff'. People probably think I'm a bit nuts when it comes to taking Myles places, but I will always choose to spend my money taking him places over buying him things! But we have to have souvenirs to remember the places by, right!?! The thing about me is though that I hate 'stuff'. I am a minimalist to the extreme. So the penny collection couldn't be more perfect! They all fit neatly in this cute passport book my mom got us and takes up very little extra space! I hope one day we will fill this all up and have to get another one. If your a penny collector like us, you have yo check out this website listing the locations of all the machines the whole world!

5. I'm not sure why it took me so long, but I finally created a Facebook page for my blog! I would love it sooo much if you guys would like the page and also leave a link to your Facebook blog pages so I can like you back :)

 I love following great blogs on all social media. Drop me links in the comments below so I can link up with you guys!

My Brother, The Eagle Scout

When we went back to Illinois in August to celebrate Myles' 2nd birthday, we also celebrated a huge milestone in our family's life; my brother officially became an Eagle Scout. This was really emotional for me as I have been really close to my brother since he was a little and I am so proud of him (and my mom for making him finish it!)

But enough talking.... 

(sorry for some of the poor quality pictures. I had a toddler clinging to my hip while I was trying to capture these.)

Mother pinning son:

Son pinning mother:

Of course Myles spotted the derby cars and had to play:

A special kind of love:

Aunt and nephew:

Best friend:

Some more aunt love:

The proud parents:

The best photo with everyone looking and the bro had to give the bunny ears!

My everythings (minus a few)

My mother and her sisters:

It was such a great day celebrating my brother and I am so glad we were able to be there to watch him become a man! Next stop.. high school graduation!

The Bird is the Word

Last week I talked about how Myles and I got to go back home to Illinois for a surprise visit to see our family at the end of last month. So far I have shared our trip to the Apple Orchard and the Pumpkin Patch. Today I am sharing our adventure at the conservatory. A couple of years ago they did a total rehab on the conservatory in our city. It desperately needed to be done, but it is bittersweet because the place I used to go as a child is no longer there and even though it was a hot mess, I sort of miss it! Anyway, I have taken Myles there before (breakfast with Santa last year) but while we were in town they had a lorikeet exhibit that I knew Myles wouldn't want to miss. Plus my mom had free tickets.. so no-brainer! 

We bought a little cup of nectar and stepped into what felt like a scene out of Alfred Hitchcock's Birds! The birds were beautiful, but LOUD and not at all afraid to get in your face. (BTW please excuse the no make-up and mom hair.. this is me on a normal day!)

Myles was way more hesitant towards them than what I thought he would be. I think the noise level and abrasiveness of the birds freaked him out. He was cool for the first couple of minutes but then he wanted them to go away and kept telling them to 'get off mommy'!

Then a bird landed on Myles....

...starting biting his shirt, and he was over it!

After the birds we ventured out into the rest of the conservatory. I played a bit with my camera. I am still learning how to take pictures with it. I would love any recommendations for tutorials, etc. for the Cannon Rebel T3i. I really still have no idea what I am doing!

Then we happened upon the fish and Myles was the happiest boy alive.

With the help of dad's brilliant idea, Myles started bopping them on the head. He was barely touching them, but he thought it was the funniest thing in the world and the fish weren't the least bit scared. I am guessing they must feed them this way because they were all over Myles and let him touch them over and over. He followed them all around the conservatory and had a hard time saying goodbye!

Although it was a bit chilly outside, we couldn't pass up checking out the outdoor scenery as well. Myles' favorite part was asking "where'd the water go?" every 5 seconds even though water features all around us! 

Our last stop was to see the ducks: both real and fake :)

Have you ever been to a conservatory or bird exhibit?

A Trip to the Apple Orchard

Since moving to California from Illinois a year and 3 months ago, Myles and I have been so fortunate to be able to go back every couple of months. I usually reach my limit at about 2 1/2 months and so desperately miss my momma that I convince my wonderfully supportive boyfriend to send us back! So far we have been back for Myles' 1st birthday, Christmas, Easter, and his 2nd birthday. Typically after his birthday visit in August, I would plan on waiting until Christmas for our next visit. In normal people's worlds, 4 months is not a long time, but for me and my ever-growing 2 year old, 4 months away from my family feels more like 4 years. So when I was offered a week long trip back at the end of last month, I didn't hesitate to join! I kept it a secret from my mother and step-dad and surprised them at their house. After all was said and done, I could not have been happier with the week we had back home. We got to spend some great quality time with our loved ones and we packed our days full of great fun! 

One of those days was spent at the Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch. Myles is currently obsessed with 'punkies' and 'pooky' Halloween stuff, so he was in heaven. Today I am sharing the time we spent at the Apple Orchard. Look out for the rest of our trip over the next weeks or so.

With grandma:

Inside the barn, they have shelves and shelves stocked with the yummiest foods with tons of samples all over! Feeding mommy:

They have samples of all the apples they pick and sell. I always go for the honey crisp.. best apple around; unfortunately it also has the highest price tag!

Of course Myles picked out sour gummy worms as his treat:

Myles' favorite part was animals. He talks about seeing animals all day long, so as soon as I told him there were animals, he wouldn't stop talking about them until he got to see them. It was so cute too because all of their animals were named after Toy Story characters.

My jive turkey momma:

After the animals, Myles went to play.

All was well until he had a head on collision with another little boy. It didn't seem to hurt him, but scared him a lot. After that, he turned into crappy pants. We were ready to leave anyway, except I really wanted to get a picture of him with the growth chart. I love having yearly pictures with things like this, so even though he was upset, I asked him to stand in front of it. He was crying, but stood still long enough for me to snap a pic! Sorry little man!

I am so happy I was able to take Myles back this year. We first went we he was about 5 weeks old, but didn't get to go last year. It means a lot to me to be able to bring Myles to places like this because I went when I was young. And being that we have moved away, it is special to still keep that tradition alive!

What Fall traditions do you have with your family?