Five Unique Valentine's Day Ideas

Love it or dread it...Valentine's Day is ONE week away!  I personally love it, especially now that I have a little man to love on.  But of course, it's also a great reminder to reconnect with your loved one.  For those of us who are married or in relationships, being original year after year can be daunting.  Sure, you can always go to dinner, send flowers, or buy a pretty gift, but maybe this year...I can inspire you to take it one step further and get creative!

Idea #1: Hire a personal chef

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Instead of going out to dinner, hire a personal chef to make dinner in the comfort of your own home home.  It allows you to have the best of both worlds, especially those for of you who have kids with strict bedtimes!  I also love the idea of hosting a couples cooking party.  Pair with some good wine, cook, and enjoy!

Idea #2: Plan your own progressive dinner.

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Start at one restaurant for appetizers and drinks {think happy hour with a view!}, go to dinner at another fun place, and end the night with dessert at a third restaurant {or better yet...at home!}.

Idea #3: Let go of control.

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I actually saw this a show that was focusing on bringing couples together.  The husband was to plan one night out...sounds easy, right?  But not only was he to make reservations, he he also got to pick out his wife's outfit as well. She was so nervous that her husband would pick out something inappropriate but was pleasantly surprised when he picked out a more conservative look.  It made her realize that he really did see her as a partner.  I actually tried this with Ryan and he picked out a cute dress for me.  I loved knowing that he enjoyed seeing me get dressed up.  Fun experiment!

Idea #4: Recreate your first date.

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Seriously!  Even if you don't live in the same area...pretend like you're young things again and reminisce on all the reasons you fell in love.  For us, it would be a trip to Coldstone!  ;)

Idea #5: Handmade gifts with a budget

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Set a budget {no more than $20} and agree that you will both make your gifts from scratch.  There are ALL sorts of ways to get creative with this one, but I always love the ones that include photos or a handmade card.  

So what do you think?  Will you be doing something fun or unique for Valentine's Day?  I'd love to hear!

xo natasha

Valentine Cards for the Littles

I can hardly believe Valentine's Day is almost a week away.  This year seems to by flying already!  

Ethan and I had fun putting together some Valentine's for some special friends over the weekend and I wanted to share them with you today.

Many of you know I am not a huge DIY'er, so this cute little kit from Target seemed like a good compromise.  It was only $5 and after we got started, it was fun to get creative!

I like some of the more simple ones the best...don't you??

And for those that either don't have the time to DIY or simply prefer the store bought kind, you must check out Minted's cute classroom selection.  These are some of my favorites:

Tiny Hearts

Just My Type

Happy Botanicals

You're Purrfect

Spot On

You can see all of them here.  It sure beats the old drugstore kind that we used to buy, doesn't it!?

Did you make Valentine's this year?  Share your link with us in the comments below.

xo natasha

Ethan is 19 Months!

I cannot believe Ethan is closer to turning two instead of being one now...how crazy is that?!  Ethan turned 19 months on the 26th and I swear time is flying!!

What's New:  

Ethan is becoming more observant by the day.  The other day, I asked him where Papa was {Ryan was on the phone with him} and Ethan walked over to our Christmas card display and pointed right to him on their Christmas card.  I was amazed.  And THEN while we were watching Bruno Mars during the halftime show at Super Bowl, Ethan knew the exact timing of the chorus where it goes...HUH.  And even did a little fist pump too.  Twice!  Seriously amazing.  Haha!  He also loves to climb.  He is a little monkey.  He climbs on the table and on top of his car.

OH and we started swim lessons...which is super fun!

Wears:

Ethan's in 18 month for the most part...with some 12-18 and some 18-24.  Still wearing size 3 diapers and size 4 shoe.

Eats:

Still a picky eater, BUT we found out he's a little over 23 pounds which is officially in the 12th percentile.  Boo yeah!  Ethan likes eggs, PB&J sandwiches, chicken sticks, gold fish, and fruit smoothies or yogurt as of late.  He also loves banana.

Teeth:

12 total.  4 molars and 8 front teeth.  

Talks:

We're getting more and more words...mainly through mimicking.  He loves mimicking animal noises and he just started saying 'oh uh'.  He can say 'dada' no problem, and when you ask him to say mama, he says 'dada'.  Figures.  I especially love when he has little conversations with himself.  Too cute.

Loves:

Reading Bear, Brown Bear.  The Peek-a-Fridge app...he especially when all of the fruit dance at the end.  Vacuuming.  Giving and receiving kisses...but mostly receiving.  Still loves his paci too, which we are desperately trying to ween.  Blankets...he sleeps with at least two at night.  Last, he loves to dance.  And brush his teeth.   

Hates:

Ethan wants what he wants and he wants it NOW...otherwise a meltdown follows.  We can tell he gets frustrated because he wants something but can't quite communicate it.  Just yesterday, when we were driving home, he was screaming crying, and I knew it was because he wanted a smoothie.  So I started telling him that I would make him one when we got home and we started talking about all of the fruit I would put in it, and he miraculously stopped crying.  I have to remember to give him more credit.  He really does understand so much more than we realize.

Goes:

We just got back from Hawaii...you can read all about it here.  As well as my tips for traveling here.

Ethan loved the beach, which makes me so excited for the summertime.  But it was pretty cute...when we got back to Tahoe, it had recently been snowing and when he saw all of the snow, he gave us a huge smile.  He's definitely a mountain boy at heart.  :)

xo natasha

Tips for Traveling with a Toddler

Traveling via airplane with a toddler, that is.

A five hour and a half airplane ride. 

Oh yes!  We survived!  And it was the part of the trip I was most worried about.  It's not because Ethan hasn't flown on a plane before...because he has.  Many, many times.  It was just that we haven't traveled that far, for that long, with an eager walker, who is busy busy busy ALL the time, before!

But we made it.  And that was after a projectile vomit ride down to the airport.  Oh yes!  Here are the tips and tricks that helped along the way.

Travel Early.

Traveling early in the day, with a toddler, really is best.  Our flight wasn't even that early, it was at 9:30 am, but Ethan was dragging by his nap time and thankfully, with a little coaxing from Ryan, he was sleeping the last hour of the flight.  It was pure heaven!

Check your stroller at the gate.

We always travel with our BOB.  Sure, it's not an umbrella stroller, but it's so comfortable for Ethan at the airport and it folds up really easily at the gate.  The best part about having a quality stroller on vacation is that you can exercise and walk with ease once you get to your destination.  We took our stroller down to the pool every day and it was great for extra storage and provided a smooth ride for Ethan too.

Bring a blanket.

Maybe two.  And an extra change of clothes is always a good idea.  Ethan dragged his blanket all over the airport but despite how gross that sounds, it was the only thing that really comforted him on the plane.  AND it allowed him to sleep.  So it's definitely a necessity.

Provide lots and lots of snacks.

And it's even better if they are brand new snacks that your toddler has never tried before.  I stocked up at Target and it kept Ethan busy for tons and tons of minutes (ha!) trying new snacks.  He also loved the airplane snacks.  Oh and watered down juice.  And a banana is always a good idea too.

Board Books are your friend.

This is the part where we talk about distraction.  Really, that's the name of the game.  Distraction!  Because the plane is so loud, picture books are a lifesaver.  Ethan LOVES Brown Bear Brown Bear...and we don't even read the book.  I just point at the animals and we make the animal sounds together.  Genius.  Pick books that are bright and colorful, with animals and that are durable.  I promise you will thank me.

So are toys.

Also, buy a couple new toys.  We got a travel version of the Doodle Pro as well as some hot wheels.  Ethan loved driving them across the fold down tray.  Which bought us more precious minutes.  Also, totally random and not a toy, but Ryan brought his headphones and Ethan LOVED plugging it in the outlet on the arm rest and unplugging.  He would do it over and over and OVER again and then clap each time after.  It was awesome.

Download some new apps...and bring them out once you're more than halfway through your trip.

 The key really is to hold off as long as possible.  Wait until he tuckers out a bit and has the attention span to focus.  I find that in the beginning of the plane ride, they're so overwhelmed with all of the people, sights, and sounds that an app is virtually worthless.  But once you've hit the halfway mark, bust those apps out!  Ethan loves Peekaboo Fridge, Bubbles, Peek-a-Zoo Moo, Sago Mini Ocean, and Play Phone.  Like the board books, bright and colorful are the name of the game.  Don't depend on apps with sound because you really can't hear them at all.

Be prepared to be a jungle gym.
And last but not least, really prepare yourself to be a human playground.  Ethan climbed all over us and was busy pushing buttons, opening and closing the window shade, waving at everyone and jumping.  This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but Ryan and I really surrendered ourselves to Ethan and knowing that was the goal made the trip 1,000+ times easier.  I remember in the beginning of traveling with a little one, we would each bring our own magazines and expect to get a little nap in.  Wrong.  That's not going to happen and as long as that's your expectation, it actually makes the whole experience much more bearable.

See how easy it is?!  I'm even reading a magazine here!  Ha!

Questions?  Let me know!

xo natasha