Little Man Cave

So I got tired of having so many books and toys in my front room and having it be super messy all the time -- so I booted out the toys and books and created a little man cave for the little guy.

I just took the bottom half of his closet and cleaned it out, painted it, threw in a few book shelves and a chair and voila!....a little man cave. I still want to put up another shelf and I have to finish sewing the curtain that will make it even more secluded -- but for now it works.

It has been officially donned "the clubhouse" (by the cousins) and every night we both climb in there and read stories before bed. I love that a couple times a day when it gets quiet in my house, I can usually find Dex sitting in the chair looking at books, or he'll just be sitting in the chair casually drinking some juice.

After I created this, I was worried that he wouldn't like it and wouldn't use it....but the next day I went and took a peek in there and he had collected all "his things" and put them in his clubhouse for safe keeping. I merely smiled to myself and realized...."even a 2 year old needs a space all their own".

Pizza is back on the Menu!

All I can say is YAAAAAAYYYYYY! A little over a week ago, I decided to make a huge change in my diet to help me get to my new year's goal of 130 lbs. and I cut out all flour and sugar in my diet. It's been a little crazy, but I've adjusted well. However, I love pizza. I can have all the toppings and the cheese but the crust part is what makes it off limits....until now.

I was perusing the internet and I found a recipe for pizza with a cauliflower crust. I was skeptical but went ahead and made it and it's fantastic. Now it's not an exact replica of crust. This pizza you have to eat with a fork...but I do that anyway (only barbarians eat pizza with their hands). My best description of the texture is when you make stuffed shells with a ricotta cheese mix in the middle....it has the same texture as that. But this pizza will definitely be made a lot more in my house. I'm all about the cheesy goodness of pizza and this definitely delivers!

Seriously...if come over to visit, ask me to make this for you. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

New Year's Revolutions

I know I'm a little behind on the whole new year's thing...but better late than never, right?

Last year was pretty crazy...so this year (I'm promising myself) will be pretty mellow. I've made some serious revolutions this year. (Yes I know it's resolutions, I just think it takes a revolution to actually follow through with the change of some resolutions.)

My three revolutions:

1. Learn French.

2. Weigh 130 lbs. by the end of the year.

3. Run a marathon this year.

I'm on my way to all three of these lofty goals. I had to write them so that ya'll can check up with me on my progress. But for now....au revoir!

Lazy Day Saturdays

I had to post this picture because this truly captures the feeling of our days home together. When I don't have to work, I will get up and get Declan fed and dressed and usually by 11 a.m. we have music playing on the stereo (sometimes Amy Winehouse, sometimes The Wiggles...we're eclectic in this house) but Declan will pretty much do his own thing whether it be playing with his toys or reading his books by himself, or as he's pictured above, sitting in the chair enjoying a sucker and the music being played in the room. Moments like these just kill me when I catch him being a mini adult. I love it!

So this was our Christmas....

How was yours?

No, it really wasn't that bad. But I did have to deal with a melt down before 9:30 a.m., which is never any fun.

So the excitement started here....

(Declan opening his first Christmas present)

and pretty much ended here.....

(Declan taking in the full rapture of his first Christmas present)

He was so excited to get a set of matchbox cars that he didn't really care about the rest of the presents he got....but I made him open them and THEN the meltdown came.

He's currently obsessed with The Wiggles. I had put the 2 Wiggles DVD cases we own on a shelf he couldn't reach and he flipped out about it. Needless to say, he spent the rest of the morning content like this....

I don't know what it is about The Wiggles, but he is obsessed. He loves to carry around the empty DVD cases or empty CD cases we have. It's hilarious most days....other days is annoying. But, he's 20 months and he won't be obsessed with The Wiggles for forever.

We had so much going on on Christmas Day. We went to church first thing, then we stopped back at home for a desperately needed nap. Then we hit my parents' house and we stopped at Declan's dad's house and then onto his other grandma's house. Needless to say, it was a very packed and busy day but it was good. Ultimately, we had a busy and great Christmas.

Christmas is coming....

We've done a ton of fun stuff in preparation for the big day. We've made Christmas cookies, we've played with cousins, gone to Christmas parties and have gone to see the Christmas lights, twice.

I can say that Declan officially loves everything about Christmas, except Santa. Santa still freaks him out but there's always next year. Dex can't stay away from our Christmas tree - actually any Christmas tree he can't resist touching. He'll stare at the tree and tell you what's on it including a ball, lights, and a "no man" (snowman).

Every time I turn around, I catch him reaching for the blasted ornaments. Luckily, the gift thing hasn't registered yet, so the presents under the tree are safe this year.

If we don't see you before the holiday and have a chance to tell you this in person. Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

THANKSGIVING

Well Thanksgiving -- no make that November -- came and went without a post on my blog. Between weaning off the bottle and little boy colds, it's been a little bit of a rough month.

Thanksgiving was good and it gave us time to be grateful for all the amazing people in our lives. We love our family and friends and we'd be lost without them.

Christmas season is here and there's so much for us to do, I'll for sure keep you guys posted this month. (Fingers crossed).