tidbits.

- um, my kid is mobile (!!!!). thus, I can no longer sit him down to play independently without having to immediately chase him into the other room. baby gates are comin' soon, but until then, blogging has to wait until nap/bed time.

chasing the cats is his #1 favorite thing to do. 

- I am working on a little venture of my own as a way to bring in a little extra income. I'll wait til things are official, but I can't wait to tell you about it! I'm pretty excited.

- Sean is sick. AGAIN. he's been sick like 49 times since Ronin was born. men are the biggest babies when they're sick, amIright? I mean damn, I wish I could just lay on the couch all day when I'm sick.

- last weekend I went to Wine in the Woods. it's an annual event that showcases local wineries - there's yummy food and local music too. all in all, it's a grand ol time, and this mama got white girl wasted for the first time in what seems like forever (probably at least 2 years). it was a blast and I'm already looking forward to next year's festivities. 

- I'm supposed to be reading The Night Circus for my monthly book club and I'm still only like 20% into it. and I PICKED THE BOOK. we're meeting in a little over a week, so I need to start dedicating my evenings to reading instead of other shit.

- I cannot even fathom that I will be putting together Ronin's 9 month post this weekend. CAN'T. EVEN. how do you mamas do it? it kills me that he just keeps getting bigger and smarter and more like a little boy than a baby. and the fact that we are only 3 months out from his first birthday is enough to make me crawl in a hole and drink heavily, while crying uncontrollably. 

- oh yay, Ronin is up from his 30 minute nap. gotta go! 

Friday loves

new research shows that an infant's heart rate slows in just 3 seconds in his/her parent's embrace.

10 ways to spread the blog love.

most common beauty blunders.

this video - so cute, and so heartwarming. I hope this is how Ronin sees me.

these custom hand painted wooden dolls. I WANT. 

loving this colorful picnic blanket. we'll need one for our park trips this summer!

Veronica Roth released the title and cover for the third book in the Divergent trilogy. SO EXCITED.

a Hungarian theater group performs on Britain's Got Talent. - a MUST watch video. these folks are so incredibly talented. 

Happy Weekend! 

Insta-Ronin v.5

just some photos of this cool dude from the last couple weeks. SO much personality oozing out of this guy. I mean, he fake coughs, you guys. he's hilarious!  8 months may just be my favorite age so far.

xo.

round up: summer style for mamas.

now that I'm down about 20lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight, I'm having a lot of fun shopping for summer clothes. I actually bought a pair of actual shorts (aka not bermuda shorts) for the first time a few weeks ago. it's fun to shop for clothes now that I like the way I look... for the most part. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm feeling more confident than I have in a long time. 

I'm adding a lot of small patterns and stripes to my closet (nothing new there), along with some fun colors of the season: coral, mint, navy, yellow (of the neon and mustard variety), aqua, and orange. since I will be chasing around a mobile baby and dealing with Maryland humidity, I'm all about simplicity - printed tanks, colored shorts/jeans and comfortable dresses. 

dresses: one | two | three | four | five | six

swimwear: one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight

tops: one | two | three

bottoms: four | five | six


what summer trends are you loving this year?

my first mother's day.

since my mother passed in 2003, I haven't had a reason to celebrate Mother's Day. meaning that Sunday was the first time I'd even acknowledged the holiday in 10 years.

and even though I didn't really "get the day off" from motherhood, I still had a pretty fantastic day. I got to sleep in a little bit and I received an amazing gift from Sean & Ronin. they got me a sweet little personalized necklace. it has two silver discs and a little peridot (August birthstone) gem - one disc says "you are my sunshine" and the other disc says "ronin." I just need to find a better chain for it - can't wait to wear it!

we didn't really do anything special for the day - we just kinda laid low and did some housework. my dad stopped by later on in the day to drop off some fresh Maryland rockfish that he'd caught. he also schooled my ass on my veggie garden that I put in a few weeks ago - apparently my plants are WAY too close together. so I guess I'll be transplanting some of them next weekend, haha. 

I did, however, get to spend an hour or so outside on the patio planting all my new flowers into containers. I'd been collecting pots and planters for a few months, and on Saturday, I finally went to our local nursery to pick out some annuals. 

I'm pretty excited to watch as those pots get more and more full and start to overflow with gorgeous blooms. 

Ronin and I also got to nap together, which is one of my absolute FAVORITE things to do. 

all in all, it was the perfect first Mother's Day. I got to spend the whole day with my mini and that's all I wanted. it's incredible how full my heart feels when I so much as think about him. he has taught me so much about myself in a mere 8.5 months. being a mom is taxing and difficult some days, but it's also so rewarding. it is the only career that requires you to be completely selfless, to put yourself second and your family first. I knew it would be hard, but I didn't realize just how heartwarming it would be to be a mother. 

I now have a new appreciation for everything my mom did for us and it makes me miss her that much more. I want to wrap my arms around her and tell her what an amazing mother she was, and how lucky we were to have her.  I just want to tell her, "I get it now." and I do. I totally get it. the feeling of your heart walking outside of your body. the desire to educate them and raise them to be good people. the worry and fear that comes with the realization that you can't always keep them safe from the world's evil. the want... no, the NEED... to be a better person for your child. I get it. and I love every minute of it. 

thanks for makin' me a mama, dude. 

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and to those of you that are moms - I hope your Mother's Day was as wonderful as mine was.