Category: Motherhood

Mother’s Day Gift Guide: Quarantine Edition

Happy Saturday!!!  Is is actually Saturday, idk, and I actually almost don’t even care.  This has all just become a big blur to me.  One of the things I’m most sad about is that I won’t be able to host my annual Mother’s Day Brunch with my mom, mother in law, and my grandmas.

But, we can all still buy practical and fun gifts to enjoy!  So I rounded up some of my favorites during quarantine.

 

Lets start with the obvious:  We all need a good coffee mug🙂

and Comfies!!  I love this set and this!

Then add the cute and cozy slippers because you know we are all still going to the mailbox!

A quarantine tee, because well, everything is fine!

A really cute t-shirt for lounging or even a zoom!  Comes in a bunch of colors

Self Care Essentials are especially important because even though we love those little humans that made us mothers, we all need Aphukenbrake!!!  By the way, this youtube video literally never gets old.  lol

A candle for bath time, and some lavender scented Epsom salts, trust me!!!

A cute wine glass for when you are enjoying that quiet relaxing bath!

And don’t forget the wine Subscription.  This is my personal favorite, click HERE for $22 off your first order!!!

And for when she(or you because lets be real also shopping for ourselves)gets out of the tub.

Self Tanning drops because we all feel better tan!

The best moisturizer

and lip gloss!  Trust me on this one, its life changing.

Dry shamps incase she(or you) chose not to wash her(your) hair!  This one is only $5 and is fabulous.

A cute necklace because well, we can wear necklaces at home!  This is a great layering one and I love this other one that you can personalize!

Last, don’t forget the comfy chair to put in the corner of her bedroom, family room, or patio!

And the cute cooler to boot!

Parker Thatch is one of my current favorite purses.  I love this denim crossbody and it sure would serve its purpose at the grocery store!

Definitely don’t forget flowers!  Bloomsybox is one of my favorites 💕.

I hope you all have the BEST Mother’s Day!!!  You deserve the world

XOXO-

Lissa

***All links are Affiliate Links which means I may make a small percentage off the purchase of these items.***

Matching Swim for the Family

One of my favorite mom things to do is match with the kiddos so I was especially excited to partner with Yaffi Fashion!  It was an easy decision to pick the Watermelon print because Emme has been loving it and also calling it Wa Wa Melon 🍉 !  Yaffi Fashion is pretty great because they also have mens and boys matching swim.  So Max was especially excited to get to match with us this time.  For reference, I ordered up one size for each of us and the fit is great!  We also wore these suits swimming in the lake all day and they held up wonderfully!

Another bonus perk, Yaffi Fashion is on Amazon and of course works with Prime!  You can shop our swim HERE.  I’m so excited to get matching dresses and PJ’s in the future 🙌🏻  They have some of the cutest!!!!

Happy Matching with your littles ❤️

 

XOXO,

Lissa, Max, & Emme

 

***These swimsuits were gifted from Yaffi Fashion but all opinions are my own***

The Next Collective

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

-Neale Donald Walschb

What is your Next?!?

Have you ever thought about this?  Do you think about it daily?  I scored my first job before graduating from NIU, it was as a retail Manager. I always knew it wouldn’t be my lifetime career but I was never really sure what I would actually do “next”?  Part of that is because change is SO darn scary. Well I was lucky enough to attend a conference in Chicago recently:  The Next Collective. Mel put it on because she said it was the conference she WANTED to attend but couldn’t find!  The Next Collective was quite frankly the best conference I’ve ever been too. For starters I went alone. I knew absolutely no one walking into the Greenhouse Loft that Friday in May. I was pretty darn proud of myself for going alone. Was I nervous?  Anxious?  Scared?  Maybe a little bit. I didn’t allow myself to think about it much to be honest. I was just excited to be attending. My goal: to not eat lunch alone 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Thanks to some new friends, Samantha and Jenny. I did NOT eat lunch alone. Haha. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy eating alone but part of why you go to conferences is to network, amiright???  

A lot of the days talk was about pivot points. You either have a forced pivot: ie. get fired or let go or a Voluntary pivot: you quit your job, have kids, etc.   the speaker line up was to. Die. For. There couldn’t have been a better panel of women. They ranged from CEO’s to upcoming entrepreneurs!  All speaking about their story!  What got them to their “next!”  Some of them are still transitioning to their next while some are already there. Each and every women told such a great story and made you really able to resonate with them. 

Check out the Speaker/Panelist line up Here!

I would say I am currently in my “Next”, right where I want to be at this moment. My pivot would be considered a forced pivot because I had kids and decided to leave my job as a Store Manager because working weekends when my husband traveled for work all week didn’t seem best for our family. I now have a fashion and lifestyle blog: Twee Blog. Which is what I have ALWAYS wanted to do.  Was this scary?!?  YES!!!!  Mainly because you are really putting yourself out there and social media can be a scary place. Of course it can and is an amazing place most days too!!  This conference was so empowering for me to attend. I left there feeling full. Full of knowing that I’m doing exactly what I want and need right now. Also knowing that it is scary. Life is scary. Doing what we want and know we should be doing is scary.  

Follow @thenextcollective on ig or www.thenextcollective.com to see all the upcoming events.

Thanks Mel for having me join!  I hope to see you ALL at the next event!!!

Cheers!

XOXO,

Lissa

***My ticket to The Next Collective was gifted but all opinions are my own***

#RoarMaxisFour Dinosaur 4th Birthday Party

“….and she loved a little boy very very much, even more than she loved herself.” – Shel Silverstein 

Today is Maxwell’s 4th Birthday. If you would have told me 4 years ago how quickly life would go I would never have believed you. From the moment they laid his 6 lb 4oz body on me my life has never and will never be the same. I don’t think anyone or anything can prepare you for the love you endure when having a child, or stress, or anxiety 🤣.  I love the quote about how you gave your child life but they teach you how to live. It sure is the truth. If anything, they teach you about what is truly important. Just in the past 4 months Maxwell has grown SO much!!  Dusko and I couldn’t be more proud of him and the little boy he is becoming. Sure, some days are hard but I wouldn’t trade them for anything!!!!  

This weekend we had a birthday party for Maxwell, and minus the rain delay, we all had a blast!!!  Here are some of the fun party details 🎉🎉🎉

The cake really stole the show!  It was baked locally from Eye Candy Bake Shop.  It had lemon filling and was absolutely delicious!!!  Not to mention, the kids all got a piece of candy and Maxwell got to have the dinosaur he had been begging me to eat since I brought the cake home!  But seriously how detailed is this cake?  Even the dino got a bite!!  haha!!

Every party, In my opinion needs a signature drink and a hashtag!  #roarmaxisfour

It only made sense to make my favorite drink; Kettle One Cucumber mint vodka with club soda and obviously slices of cucumbers, sprigs of mint, and a cute straw/napkin!

You can shop any of the party accessories here!

Including these cuties matching tees!!!  Kind of hard to see but they say, Awesome since 2015(well dusko’s says 1981)!!!

These two literally melt my heart.  They are at each others throats all the time but both look out for each so much!!!

Due to the rain delay, the kids played with some of their party favors!  Thank goodness I had bought something they could actually play with.  They did a fun dinosaur excavation!

You always need to make sure your guests know where the party is!  Thanks T-Rex!

Thanks to our dear friends for making this super fun dinosaur fruit platter, cute number 4, and jello shots!!!  Because no party is complete without….SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS!!!  Are you singing along or am I aging myself……?!?!?!

Crying, I literally can’t believe you are 4!!!!

The pic on the left is of Maxwell’s first friend that he made on his own at school.  I literally almost cried when he walked in.  They were both so happy and excited to see each other outside of school!  It was the cutest.

I am such a sucker for cookies.  I rarely even eat them but I just think they are so darn cute and add so much to a party!!!  These are from Sweet Temptations and I did sample it so I could share my opinion=delicious!!!

And what toddler party is complete without a BOUNCE HOUSE!?!?!?  Pro Tip:  I always try to get the house to match the theme.  I was super happy with how well this looked!!!  And obviously the kids had fun.  Well, mostly mine because it rained almost the entire party.  Life is what you make of it, and rain delays, they happen!

Hold him a little longer

Rock him a little longer

Read him another story

(You’ve only read him 4)

Let him sleep on your shoulder 

Rejoice in his happy smile

He is only a little boy for such a little while

XOXO-

Lissa

Shop anything I could link here!!!

***The cake was gifted to me from Eye Candy Bake Shop but all opinions are my own***

Swim Lessons with Goldfish Swim School St. Charles

 

Happy Friday!!  We started swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School St. Charles about 3 months ago. It’s crazy, we are around water ALL the time. My parents live on a lake( I grew up there), so we have always had a life jacket rule. Anytime any kids are over they have to wear life jackets wether they are on the boat or just swimming, etc. What I didn’t really think about was what would happen if they took their life jackets off. Truthfully, it didn’t cross my mind because my kids had never actually taken theirs off before and it seemed we as parents had full control. Well this past February we were in Florida, about to be done at the pool and Max made the decision to take his life jacket off. Because you know, toddlers are the bosses amiright?!  Well he walked into the pool, fell, and sunk to the bottom within seconds. I was literally right there but had I turned my head for 5 seconds that could have ended differently. Truth be told, because my kids always wear life jackets I honestly don’t think Max realized that he couldn’t “float.”  At any rate, both kids were signed up for swim lessons upon returning home and there was no question it would be with Goldfish Swim School St. Charles!  We had attended a third birthday party there and saw how adorable and fun it was!!!!  

 

Emme is 2, so she started out in the Mini 2 class where she had to have a parent with her. She loved this because she had one of our undivided attention for 30 mins!  She was in this class for about 2 months and or 8 sessions. We asked if they thought she was ready to move up(simply because she is so independent) and they agreed. So she is a couple of weeks into her mini 3 class and is LOVING it. I couldn’t believe how great she did her first class, goggles and all!  

Max will be 4 in a couple of weeks and started in the Junior 1 class. It has been fun to watch his progression and even simply his maturity of going to class alone!  Every week he gets more brave and confident with the water.

A couple things, each class is 30 mins long and meets once a week.  If you have to miss a session you are able to make it up. This is such an awesome rule as a lot of places don’t offer this. Goldfish also has family swim times a few days a week. The kids especially love this!  There are changing rooms, an awesome blow drying station, diapers(which we often need because I always seem to forget one), and Maxwell’s favorite:  the swimsuit drying machine!!!

 

Below are some pics of the kids celebrating National Water Safety Month at home in our bath tub!

Good Luck on your swim journey!

 

XOXO,

Lissa, Max, & Emme

***Goldfish Swim School has provided me with the experience of swim lessons, all opinions are my own***

A Bag for Santa

 

“Mom, are we pretending it’s Christmas?!?!?”   Lol. This is what Max asked me when I told him he had to put on these Christmas PJ’s and he had a present!  Truth be told, I am NOT a holiday skipper!  Tbh, I LOVE thanksgiving.  A Lot 🦃!  Fun Fact:  Dusko’s Birthday is in November, sometimes it even falls on thanksgiving. But truthfully, we all have so much to be thankful for 🖤 so I really try to appreciate each holiday.  Although, it does appear we are decorated for Christmas it was just a little set up!  I had to do all of this because I couldn’t share the BEST new Christmas Book that everyone needs without feeling the Christmas Vibe.

Drum Roll….the book is called, A Bag for Santa 🎅.  It’s an adorable Christmas book about giving to others and the true spirit of Christmas!  The author, Kendra Esbrook is from a Chicago Suburb and a stay at home mom of 2.  So hurry and get yours today!  Not only will your children have a different understanding of Christmas this year, but supporting another mom is such a good feeling ❤️.  When the book is mailed to you it looks like an actual present!  And, you get A BAG for Santa!  Without giving away the whole book, are you starting to get it?!!  You can shop Kendra’s book HERE!

Also, I have no problems buying Matching Christmas PJ’s early!  Let’s be honest, they will run out of sizes!!  These PJ’s are 50% off through today, so get clicking!!!!

Shop all of our PJ’s HERE!

XOXO,

Lissa, Maxwell, & Emerson

***This book was given to me but all opinions are my own.  It’s the cutest!!!***

Zumbini

Looking for a fun mommy & me class?  Look no further!  Zumbini is the cutest class for babies and toddlers ages 0-4.  They call it “Happy” Hour for mom and child!  Zumba partnered with Babyfirst to create this program full of dance, music, and educational tools.  And named it Zumbini, I mean even the name is cute 😍.

So far Emme and I have attended 2 classes.  In our second class I could already see Emme’s improvement of cognitive skills and a simple understanding of what was coming next!  It’s so fun to watch her grow.  Max is usually at school when we go but I’m anxious for him to join us soon and since the program is for ages 0-4, he can surely join us!

Once you sign up for the full program you get this cute little Kalino stuffy and a cd for the car!  Plus a full songbook to enjoy at home.

Below are a bunch of pictures to enjoy of Emme and her friends participating in class with Coach Dana!  You can check out her full site here!  Use Code:  ATBLOG for $10 off a session.

Can’t wait to see you all at class!

 

XOXO,

Lissa & Emme

A Day in the Life…

One of the most common questions I get asked is how the kids and I are up and at em so early. We are pretty much ready to go by 7am everyday. I like to say I’m REALLY good at time management 🤣🤣🤣. So I thought I would share a typical Day in the Life.
Max and Emme pretty much wake up by 6:30 every day. If I’m lucky it’s 7am. One time ever can I remember Max sleeping until 8:45 and it was 2 weeks ago.  I try to be dressed and ready before they wake up, this obviously does not always happen.  For as long as I can remember my dad was/is always in a hurry and I have definitely picked up that trait. Like where was he always so rushed to be 🤷🏻‍♀️?!? What am I always in a hurry for? I guess it’s just in our nature. I share this because when the kids wake up, they go to the bathroom(or in emmes case, we change her diaper) , and get them dressed before we even go downstairs. I have heard feedback that this is crazy because the kids still have to eat breakfast and they can get dirty: sometimes they do. But I mean, doesn’t that happen at lunch? And dinner too?  If I wasn’t able to get ready before they wake up, they come in my room while I hurry to get ready and make my bed.  I have to make our bed.  It’s one of the only things I can control with 2 kids under 3!  haha.
We eat Breakfast, maybe watch an episode of their favorite show, and are out the door!  We usually head to Starbucks for my mom fuel of a Venti Iced Coffee unsweetened with Almond Milk.  I had to switch to iced coffee no matter the season because, let’s be real.  I can NEVER finish a hot coffee without it getting cold.  Then, we usually go to Fit4mom for our workout class, then hit up the park afterwards(This summer though we have been going to the pool and or other fun parks because we have had family in town, etc).
 This honestly works great because by the time we leave the park, the kids are exhausted!!  Read more about my Fit4Mom Journey Here.  We come home, have lunch, and the kids take their naps.  I am trying really hard to get Emme on the same 3 hour nap schedule as Max.  I need that time!!!  lol.
I use nap time to do blog stuff, laundry, or work(I am covering a maternity leave and working part time from home).  I honestly wish there was more time in a day so I could read or catch up on some shows.  I haven’t gotten to watch a full tv series in awhile.  Oh, well!  Maybe winter will help me with that!
Once the kids wake up from their naps, we usually head back outside or into the toy room until Daddy gets home!  By then its time for dinner.  We usually eat dinner with the kids but I have to be honest, it’s a total wreck!  We have tossed around the idea of feeding them, getting them to bed, then making dinner for ourselves.  Do any of you do this?  Either way, what is working for you?  Dusko and I can’t even talk to each other half the time we are attempting to eat!  lol.  After dinner, both kids have a bath every night.  We have always done this.  I guess for a couple reasons.   One, it helps set a routine for bedtime and two, it honestly passes time.  Plus the kids love to play in the water!  We got some fun new tubby toys I linked below!

After Tubby Time, Emme goes to bed!  Maxey T hangs out with his dad more and we all chill.  Well, I usually do more laundry or the dishes!!!  Is a moms job ever done?!?!??!  What is your least favorite household chore?
Have a good day!

XOXO,

Lissa

To Grocery Pick Up or Not…

Grocery Pick Up….
tbh, I was never really interested in this before. When we lived in the city(Chicago), I used instacart once and had kind of a bad experience. If you’ve never heard of this it’s a grocery delivery service. Basically, the chips came crunched and the milk was leaking. So, we never utilized this service again. Fast forward 4 years and 2 kids later. Wal-Mart, One of the biggest companies in the world starts a grocery pick up service. There was a lot of buzz in my world of moms. I still wasn’t super interested at first. Maybe because it was Wal-Mart, maybe because of my experience with instacart, and maybe just because I like to shop. At any rate, one of my friends kept raving about how obsessed she had become with this awesome service. Alas, I had to try it.
Result:
Well, I’m kind of obsessed now too!  I totally get it.  It is hands down one of the best things since sliced bread.  Here is my list of pros and cons.
Pros:
*Super user friendly, there is even “an app for that!”
*You get a window of an hour to pick up, they text you when it’s ready and you check in on your way.  You basically don’t have to wait.  Super fast.
*I am way more organized and prepared with what I am buying.  You can add items and it saves them in your bag until you order.  You are basically writing your list in the shopping cart.  Takes the middle man out!  And if I forget something I can always do a new order the next day!  haha.
*You can place the order and have your husband pick it up!  He won’t be calling you every 5 mins asking about the item you text him to pick up!  lol.
*You can order other things besides groceries!  My first time I placed an order, I got tulips.  They were cheap and lasted a week.
*Now that I am working Part-Time, it is a HUGE time saver.  More time for playing at the park and snuggling with these two cuties!
Cons:
*They do substitutions for things….For example:  if I order yogurt pouches in a specific brand and they are out, they will substitute them with something else.  Even if that something else costs more.  Sounds like a pro, right?  Well, I’m sure 90% of the time it is but I had a time last week that I really needed frozen rice for a meal train I was doing that night.  They were out of the item and apparently had no substitute.  The problem here is I didn’t know this until I went to pick up all my groceries with 2 kids in a pinch.  So, that can be super annoying.  I would like to note, this has only happened to me once and I have used this service a number of times now.
*Your order has to be over $30, this is obviously easy to do but today I just needed a couple of things.  These things totaled $21, so I ended up spending over $30 so I could utilize the service.  Obviously I bought things I know I will need anyways so not the biggest deal.
*You can’t order alcohol.  I am sure they will eventually figure out a way to make that happen.
*Wal-Mart definitely doesn’t have everything I need.  But that’s ok!  I still shop at Trader Joes and Meijer.  This just gets me through the week!
Click HERE to receive $10 off your first Grocery Pickup of $50 or more!
Have you ever done Wal-Mart Grocery Pick up or any other service?  Would love to hear about your experiences in the comments.  Also, I hear Target is going to be offering a pick up service.  Would love to hear more about this!
Happy Weekend Y’all!

XOXO,

Lissa

***This post is not sponsored, just my own opinion:)***

Mother’s Day

“Motherhood is the Greatest Thing and the Hardest Thing” -Ricki Lake

With Mother’s Day approaching I know it makes us all think about our moms and the amazing, wonderful traits or things they do everyday(Love you mom).  Or maybe it makes us all think about our kids, the ones that made us moms!  The other day Dusko asked me in a very joking tone, “When am I going to make an appearance on your blog?”  haha.  The funny thing was, little did he know I actually was planning to do a post about him.  You see, I think that your husband is a HUGE player in what makes you the mom you are.  He is your partner, your best friend, the father of your children.  Now, I want to preface with the fact that by no means is our marriage perfect.  Nor are our parenting skills!  haha, we are definitely still learning.  every.  darn.  day.  Aren’t we all?

Being a stay at home mom is a very HARD job.  I definitely used to judge it, in an “I want to do that kind of way.”  It’s hard in many regards because well, first off, your job never ends.  You don’t clock out at 3:03, or even 6pm.  Dusko is really good at understanding when I need APHUKENBRAKE!  lol  Seriously, click here to watch one of the funniest Youtube videos I have ever watched.  Seriously though, he tells me that I am doing a good job and knows when I have had enough.  He also rarely says no when I ask him to go grab me a coffee at Starbucks when we both know darn well we have coffee at home.  But, I guess he just gets me!  Or maybe he wants me to shut up and it’s just easier.  Either way, it fuels me!  Literally!

Dusko has also been very supportive of all of my business ventures/side gigs/photoshoots!!!  Well, sometimes on the photo shoots.  The real real on this is that, I need these side gigs.  They make me feel grounded, like I am still a human.  Point blank, they make me a better mom.  His support is obviously very important to me but truly aside from my mom, he is my biggest cheerleader.  Well, I should say fan(he’s for sure front row, 50 yard line if you get me).

Sometimes, ok, most times, he wakes up in the middle of the night for one of the kids.  Except when I was nursing and obvs he couldn’t do much.  But for real, there were times even when I was nursing, he would get up with me if I couldn’t get one of the kids to sleep.  I mean, this is a true co-parenting partner.  That was a mouthful.  Mom-ing is exhausting.  I may not always say it, but this is so helpful.  I mean, moms are already zombies, so having someone assist in the wee hours of the night obviously makes me a better mom.

The actual scenario that made me want to write this post though happened just a few days ago.  I had gone away for the weekend to my Beautycounter Leadership Summit.  I was gone for 4 days/3 nights.  I missed Max & Emme SO much!  Max is at such an age where he realizes when one of us is gone and is talking so much.  Emme was actually mad at me and didn’t want to even facetime me.  lol.  So, my flight was supposed to land at 9:35am.  I got lucky and Southwest put me on a flight that landed at 8:05am.  I was already at the airport for reasons I won’t waste your time with so this was great!  We live over an hour to the airport, even on a sunday morning.  Dusko got both kids ready and loaded up the car per my request for them to pick me up!  I know this was the absolute last thing he wanted to do(especially since we had a huge pile of mulch sitting in our driveway that needed to be spread). He did it anyway.  He didn’t do it just for me, he did it for the kids too.  I know that.  What I didn’t know is that they were going to park and come into the airport to surprise me.  He carried Emme(forgot the stroller-dad mistake.  lol) and held Max’s hand for almost 30 mins just to surprise me.  I know this may not sound like much, but to be surprised by your two little kids, who actually were fighting to hug me was literally one of the best moments of my life.  And this moment, only happened because my husband is a really great dad.  This makes me a better mom.

Thanks Dusko for all you do, I am the mom I am because of you.

XOXO,

Lissa

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