Summer Swimwear

 This post is underwritten by Old Navy. Whether you're looking for a tankini, bikini or a one piece, Old Navy has you confidently covered. 


Now that it is officially summer... it's time for the water! We might not have an ocean here in Minnesota, we do have over 10,000 lakes, including Lake Superior. Plus there are a ton of different pools and water parks here as well. Everett is old enough to really have some fun in the water, and of course I need to be right there with him. And totally catching some rays myself! 


I have to admit that wearing a swimsuit is not my favorite thing in the world. No matter what size I am, I always feel self conscious in a suit. And you can forget a 2 piece, especially after having a baby. Not only is my belly my least favorite part on my body, I have a GIANT scar from my belly button to to the bottom of my belly. (thank you c-section). 
So I will definitely be rocking a one piece this summer season! Plus running around with a toddler, I need to make sure everything stays in one place and can move along with me. 


Right now, Old Navy has an awesome selection of all different swimsuits for everyone. Including lots of belly happy one piece suits.
I  am totally loving this suit at Old Navy! Not only is the color awesome, but it totally covers my belly area. A complete summer life saver! 

I'm am really looking for beach season once again this year, now that I have some fun swimwear options. Whooo Hooo! 

Thank you again to Old Navy for sponsoring my post. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

Happy Blog Birthday!!

This weekend my blog had a birthday and turned five years old!! It's really hard to believe that I have been blogging for that many years. I just started this blog on a whim, mostly because my cousins started their blog about their adoption journey and I wanted to jump on the blog bandwagon. 

When I told my parents I was starting a "Blog" they thought I was making it up! "What's a Blog?"

Looking back at my blog, I do a lot of laughing and cringing at some of my posts. I had no idea how to blog and place pictures. What the heck was HTML? And what was a follower? 

The best part about looking back, is all the changes that happened in my life. I started this blog as a single girl living it up in the better Twin of the Twin Cities... St. Paul. I just went through a pretty major break-up and was trying to figure out how to move on from that. Over the years, I've changed careers, bought a house, went on a lot of adventures, met my husband, got engaged, married, pregnant, moved into my husband's house, had a baby and sold my house. And now I am a happily employed stay at home mom. The pay is awesome! Lots of hugs and kisses and laughter!

Another fun thing about blogging is all the fun people I've "met" through the blog world! It's like a ton of pen pals from all the place! Not to mention through, blogging I've discovered some really cool blogs. Which inspire me in so many ways! 

Blogging isn't always easy, sometimes it's time consuming and sometimes I have NOTHING to say. Some days I could care less about ever writing another thing, but most days I have big ideas I want to share, even if I don't always have the time to blog. 

Thank you to all my readers... whether you have been reading since day one or just started yesterday, I really appreciate you all!! 

Happy Birthday Blog! 

After our birthday bonanza a few weeks ago, I have had no desire to blog. Sometimes I just don't feel like I have anything to say. I do plan on totally giving my blog a make-over soon. So I can't wait to unveil the new look! 

In the mean time, this is what I have been up to...

I scored the mother load of craft supplies at a church garage sale! Calico heaven!!! 

grapes & blueberries, cucumber sticks in hummus, and whole grain pasta with peas and homemade pesto from Grandpa & Grandma Brian & Betty

We're working on eating more solids and less bottle. But no one tells you how difficult it is to transition from all meals in a bottle to all solids and milk in a cup! E wants his bottle and yet, I don't want him to have funky teeth when he gets older. Do I just go cold turkey and never give him a bottle again?  He's great with a sippy cup and straws, but he still enjoys his cuddle time with Momma and a bottle.  Oh and he doesn't actually call me Momma... he says MOM. Just mom. I love it!

 To beat the heat on a 90+ degree day, we got out the kiddie pool. It was a splashing success!

Cousins: Piya, Levi, Drew, Everett, Evan & Isla.  

 My cousin and his wife had their baby girl Isla baptized a few weekends ago. Afterwards we got all the cousin kiddos together and snapped some pics.

On a side note, both my husband and I only have one sibling. I have one brother and so does my husband.  My brother Buddy has Down's Syndrome and will not be having children. My husband's brother Peter lives in Taiwan with his wife. And although they don't have children yet, even when they do we're not sure how often we will see them.
It's really important for me for Everett to have cousins. I have the best cousins, I mean my cousin Kelly is totally one of my BFFs! So although he may not have first cousins yet, he will always have my cousin's children and I hope they become great pals!

Dawson's Creek is on Netflix and I'm reliving my teenage angst... with a big vocabulary! Capeside lives! 

Whitney Farms Organic Plant Food

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was really excited for this opportunity to work with Whitney Farms®! I come from a long line of avid gardeners and gardening is one of my favorite past times! I love growing flowers and vegetables, and all winter long I look forward to planting my seeds. Now that I have a little one I really want to focus on using more organic veggies and fertilizers. The thought of using organic soil & organic plant food made me feel better about what I was growing for my family.


When I heard about Whitney Farms Organic Plant Food I was so excited. I really like the idea of using an Organic fertilizer on my plants, especially my vegetables.  This product to me, is better than the conventional fertilizers because they contain low to no dust, no manure odor, and they contain beneficial mircrobes. Plus it has the benefit of being 100% natural plant food! Yay!!
I have all my seeds picked out and ready to be planted. And I'm really looking forward to planting using Whitney Farms®  Organic Plant Food.

And hopefully one day my garden looks like this...

Source: Garden World

For my readers I have a $3 coupon for Whitney Farms® Organic Plant Food that I hope you will use to grow your dream garden! Have fun!

 Just click on Whitney Farms® to sign up to receive your coupon. 

Cards & Museums

card from Bill Main Etsy

Yesterday was my husband's birthday! Happy Birthday!!  I got him this card because he is always asking me to watch Predator with him. I got this card off of Etsy from Bill Main. Do you know who his wife is? It's the fabulous Christina of Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe! The same chica who made the lightning bolts and name plaque on Everett's birthday cake! Hello talented duo!

Today E and I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts with a bunch of other moms from my MOPS group, and Kelly, Kyle & P who decided to crash the party. I hadn't been there in years, so it was fun to walk around and re-explore the museum. E did great job looking around at all the art, only one tiny melt down when it was time for lunch.  I do look forward to the day when I can take him and he will truly appreciate the artwork. My aunt Sandy introduced me to art & museums when I was a little girl and since then I've been hooked. I've had the extreme fortune of going to art museums all over the country and the world! I hope E and any future children I have, love art as much as I do!

photo courtesy of kelly

P: I think my favorite piece was the Renoir.

E: If I'm being totally honest, I would have to say my favorites were the Picasso's.

Mother...

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is such a great day but it can also be a hard day for so many women.  I've had so many friends struggle with infertility or others waiting years for an adoption to go through. I know there is pain as each Mother's Day passes and there is no child in their arms. I've also have friends lose children, and the pain they carry each Mother's Day without their sweet child with them.  Or there are women out there who long for a child, but are not in a relationship or in the right one.  It's hard to spend year after year hoping that maybe someday soon, they too could have a family. I fell into the latter camp. Growing up, I had always assumed I would be married young and a handful of children to follow. But year after year, and relationship after relationship went by and the longing for a child just grew deeper. There were days (years) when I just started to think it maybe wan't going to happen.  I just knew I was meant to be a mom. I would pray and pray about it, hoping that God would bring a man into my life who wanted to also have a family. Finally that prayer was answered. And last year on Mother's Day I got the best present of all... 

This little guy...

Thank you Tim & Everett for making me a mommy! I love you both so much!!! 

One Year of Awesome!

Happy Birthday Everett!!! 

I can't believe it's already been one year since you came into our lives! You made me a mother on Mother's Day and you changed my life forever! We love you so much and are so excited to celebrate a lifetime of birthdays with you!!! Happy Birthday Bubba! 

Today Everett and I are just going to have a fun day together and then we'll have some more fun when daddy gets home. There is a dinner and playtime at the Library tonight so I think we'll go there later. But mostly there will be lots of hugs and kisses and doting on our ONE YEAR OLD... so crazy to say that! 

I made a little photo video of Everett's first year. The first time I played it, I balled my eyes out. It's so amazing how much he has grown... and touched our lives!