Ah, perfection

I feel SO lucky that this is my view during morning coffee for the next month!

27 day challenge!

We arrived tonight in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado. We are sooooo excited to be here and enjoy the weather, the nature and scenery, and most of all, family time! (cheese alert!)

With part motivation to really capitalize on our time here, and part documentation to remember it all, I've decided to give myself a 27 day photo challenge for each of the 27 days we will be here.

The flight to Denver went surprisingly smoothly mainly because Scarlett's performance on the airplane was much improved compared to her last airplane experience in June. I'm giving myself all the credit for this as it was my genius idea to pack stickers for her. She, however, decided on her own that the best place for the stickers was on Tripp's head. Whatever works! He slept right through it.

Here's the first pic! And another one just to laugh at what a heavy load we travel as these days.

Check back frequently over the next 27 days to keep me accountable! Any summer vacation plans for you? How will you try to capture and remember it all?

fun with forward facing camera

this girl cracks me up!!

kitchen and bath: during pics

kitchen and bath renovation: post demolition, beginning electrical and plumbing work

bathroom vanity and toilet spots

need to center toilet and change plumbing from single to double vanity

bathtub spot

floors and walls torn out because of rotten wood

shower head remnant

more rotten wood, need to replace leaky and damaged pipes

 kitchen

 2 layers of (hideous) laminate flooring torn out

kitchen wall #1

window removed to allow new spot for fridge and more countertop space

kitchen wall #2

 electrical wiring to be redone to meet safety codes 

laundry room

old water heater removed, prepping for new efficient tankless heater

kitchen and bath: before pics

before pictures of kitchen and bath 

(took some pics while previous owner still lived there 

to begin imagining and planning)

you can see my remodel inspiration boards on pinterest

hopefully the after pics will look as pretty as the ones i pinned!

life is a bit cray cray these days..

to wrap my head around all the upcoming events and travel for our family, i needed to write it down multiple different times, come up with 4 alternate options and have a scheduled meeting with my husband to discuss said options that lasted three and a half hours.

first, the obstacles and key players: 

• our apartment lease is up on august 1st and it can't be extended, but our new house is not ready to move in until end of august. we are redo-ing the kitchen and bathroom in a new to us 1940s house, btw. there is only one bathroom, and it currently doesn't exist because it's been torn out, so basically the house is uninhabitable. 

• next, remember that i've been on maternity leave since like january? oh yeah, that nice little set up has reached it's limit and i have to return to work (in california) the first weekend in august. why are you working in california, you might ask? well, because it's been difficult to find the *perfect* job (ie perfect schedule, perfect pay) in austin so i'm going to fly back once a month to work 4 days at my old hospital. that's crazy, you say?! yes, it is also crazy that i can make more working 4 shifts in california than working part-time here in austin. is it worth it do all that? yes, if you refer above, i am redo-ing my kitchen and bath, and i have expensive tastes. 

• plus our regularly scheduled chaos/travel/visitors thrown in the mix

so we have nowhere to live starting august 1, and then i have to be gone for 5 days leaving my husband homeless with our two small children and no help. 

where are we gonna go? what are we gonna do? 

well, we figured out a way to make it all work, so here is what's up:

this weekend: david is at our good friends' wedding in south bend, in, but i'm staying here to pack and organize. my sister grace arrives from chicago to help for a week.

next week for david: traveling to cali and then seattle for work until thursday

next week for mamma: stops at house everyday encouraging speedy, but excellent, work by tradesmen. buys last minute whatever.it.is.they.say.i.need.that.you.never.before.knew.existed, makes sure things completed according to plan, being generally very annoying, tedious and detailed, i'm sure, but i also bring the men cookies and ice cold drinks so they like me and don't f up my house. oh, also, i'm still packing all our crap and watching/entertaining our children.

next weekend for mamma: required nursing recertification course on saturday, couple trips to house moving things with david in evening, sunday morning fly with Tripp and sister grace to madison, wi for gramma's 80th birthday party

following week: mamma returns on monday, movers come on tuesday, we leave for colorado on wednesday and then i fly to california on friday for work, returning the tuesday after that. david stays with kids at parent's house in breckenridge.

after all that: hopefully i can let out a huge exhale

and then after that: we can relax and enjoy gorgeous breckenridge, and pray that there are no house emergencies while we are gone. david will have to travel twice and still be working the next weeks, but at least we are surrounded by beautiful mountains and have nanasue and pop's help.

end of august?: house should be finished and we can move in for real. fingers crossed!

and after that: an even bigger exhale and huge smile after i make a delicious meal in my new beautiful kitchen and eat it as a family on our cute back porch and then take a relaxing bath in my sparkly new bathtub....aahhhh

until then...

*i'm well aware that probably no one is going to actually read through all this, but at least i have it documented so that one day i can look back and think, "wow, we really did that?!"


**also, i'm well aware that this is a first world problem: "our kitchen & bath renovation isn't finished yet, so we have to spend a month in breckenridge, boohoo." woe is me, i know. 

@MammaMagsAustin on Twitter

I'm on twitter!

I'll tweet about where the kiddos and I are headed for fun in Austin so you can join (pools, children's activities, music, free events, etc), my ridiculous mom-brain moments, things I'm loving this moment that you will also love, easy dinner ideas, new blog posts and more. check it out!

Follow @MammaMagsAustin

Most handsome boy in the world?

clearly, i'd vote yes

Circles, anyone?

Scarlett learned how to draw circles, and now she's obsessed.

to my daughter on her second birthday

Happy Birthday Sweet Scarlett!!

Dear Scarlett -

What?! You’re two already?! This year went faster than the first! It’s been amazing to watch you grow and develop this past year. You went from crawling to walking to running in a few months’ span. Now you can march and jump and stand on one foot and spin around. Incredible! You went from signing and saying only a few words to speaking two and three word sentences and even knowing some spanish words, not to mention repeating every word you hear and learning new words by the minute. I love your sweet voice. And when you said “i wuv you, mamma” to me the first time, which happened to be mother’s day, my heart melted completely. best.feeling.ever! It’s hard to believe, but I fall more and more in love with you everyday.


Everyday is a new adventure and you continue to surprise and amaze me your emerging personality. You’re pretty funny, Scarlett! Your laughter and giggles are contagious, even when none of us know what you’re laughing at. At the young age of two you know exactly what you want and will not settle for anything else. You love your doggies and shoes and boxes and puzzles and markers. You are pretty picky about food, and prefer cheese and crackers to anything else, but I can’t blame you for that. (Girl after my own heart!) There are some things you started this year that I don’t know where you learned them. For example, when you are talking and singing to yourself in your room way past your bedtime and then I come walking in quietly to check on you, you immediately stop singing, flop down and pretend to be sleeping!! Where did you learn that? I didn’t perfect that skill until junior high sleep-over parties. Like I said sweet girl, you amaze me and make me laugh!

There were a lot of changes in this second year of life, Scarlett. We left the only home you ever knew in San Francisco and moved cross-country to Austin, TX. When our apartment was empty and everything was packed away, you laid down in the middle of floor with arms and legs stretched out and cried. Not a screaming cry; a “where is all my stuff” worrisome cry. When we arrived in our new apartment, you inspected every corner before giving your non-verbal approval of sitting down to play in your new room. Besides moving to a new state, you also became a big sister this year! I was worried about your reaction to the baby’s arrival, but you instantly loved him. And since the day he arrived, you have been a sweet and protective older sister. Every morning when you wake up you ask, “baby? baby?” until you see the baby and then say, “Oooohhhh, baby!” You also love to hold your little brother and show him your toys. Those are some big changes in one year for a little girl, but you’ve handled it like a champ!

Things have been good in Texas for you so far. You get to see your NanaSue and Pop all the time and have fun at their ranch with their doggies! You and I have gone to ballet classes and music classes and lots of story times together. You love playing in the pool and going down the slide and playing catch and dancing. You also started spanish pre-school, which took a little bit of time to get used to, but now you have a lot of fun there. This next year we will be able to settle in to our new house and neighborhood with our growing family.

No matter where we are in the world, I love reading stories to you and singing lullabies before you go to sleep. Just a few weeks ago, after almost two years of singing “twinkle, twinkle” and “you are my sunshine” to you every night before bed, you finally sang the songs with me. I was so amazed! You went from never singing a single word to singing the entire song! Even though sometimes I can’t believe how big you are getting, I am always reminded that you are my sweet baby when you lay your head on my shoulder to snuggle before sleep. Those are the best moments that I will continue to cherish everyday and will remember forever.

Though there have been some challenging moments this year as a mother, like your first tantrums and your refusal to hold my hand when we cross the street, I love you unconditionally and more than you will ever know. I hope I grow as a mother as you grow as a child, and I provide the parenting that is best for you to develop. My goal is to allow your creativity, learning and independence to shine, while also keeping you safe and teaching you to treat others with respect. I promise you I will try everyday to do just that.

Scarlett, you’ve got spark in your eyes and some spunk in your step. Your smiles and slobbery snotty kisses and running-towards-me-with-open-arms hugs and everything else are the best in the world. I love you so much! I love you so much! I love you so much! I just looooove you sooooo much!! Happy birthday my favorite girl in the world!

All the love in my heart,

Mamma

MOM BRAIN!

when I put on my sunglasses, drive three blocks with my eyes seriously squinting and hurting from the sun while wondering why my sunglasses suck so bad, only to discover that one of the lenses is completely not there, I'm like...MOM BRAIN!

thanks maux for taking the pic and laughing with (slash at) me!

Tripp: 2 months

I'm late in getting these posted, but that is not surprising! 

Like I've said a million times, "Better late than never, right?" 

I wanted to jump on the photo-each-month-sticker bandwagon, 

but completely missed month 0 and month 1. Whoops!

Shall I say it again? Better late than...

anyway...here is Tripp at month 2!

Month 2 Tripp stats:

12 pounds 6 ounces

24 inches long

sweet as can be

starting to smile more and more

eats all the time

sleeps well

and is just a perfect little baby!

Look at those lips!!!

Don't you just want to smoooooch them?!

Hammock time

Just big sister and baby brother chillaxin' on a warm Sunday night...

Thanks MoMo and Will for letting us hang out in your hammock!

ps: Scarlett has a crush on Will, and whenever he would walk away she'd whimper, "Oh, Will. Oh, Will!"

Ice cream

After I picked up Scarlett from escuela the other day, 

I decided we (mainly me) needed a little ice cream treat.

She devoured it! And kept repeating, "Ice cream! Ice cream!"

Of course she did, it was delicious!

Thank you Amy's Ice Cream