I’m warming up to the multiple earrings trend, are you? It took me a minute to get used to ear huggies and smaller, delicate earrings because I so often wear larger statement earrings, but I’ve found that layering a few favorites still gives you a statement earring look!
When it comes to wearing a few earrings in each ear, I typically try to work from biggest to smallest as I work up the ear.
The largest or longest earring goes in the first hole, closest to my face, and the earrings get smaller or I use studs to fill in the second and third holes in my ear. Sometimes, though, I skip the third hole altogether.
When mixing and matching earrings together, I typically avoid anything with tassels or a statement earring that is larger than about 1.5 inches. I also never wear large studs in the second hole. Pictured below is an example of what not to do! See how sad I am?
I have been reminded about all the research and planning I did when I was expecting my first child (who is now 6!) and I wanted to share some of my most loved and appreciated baby items for the past 6 years.
The stroller and the baby monitor were the two items I focused the most on when I was pregnant with my first. Ultimately the baby monitor worked fine until the battery life took a strong dive south, and the range from the camera to the parent unit started to become glitchy. We have since replaced our monitor with a different brand but it’s also glitchy and the battery life is awful.
Our first stroller, though, was fantastic! We got the UppaBaby Cruz, which is a single stroller because we only had one little baby. If we had known we would get pregnant again when David was 5 months old, we would have just gotten the UppaBaby Vista in the first place! We loved the Cruz while we had it but upgraded to the Vista before Luke was born. The Vista has been our stroller for years now and it has been wonderful. You can see the multitude of configurations on their website!
With the boys, I used a lot of different burp cloths, and they were great, but with Emily, I used MatiMati burp cloths and really loved them. They are super thick and absorbent, and also so soft for the baby to lay on. They make bibs as well!
My favorite baby carrier, of all that I tried, is the Lille Baby mesh carrier that offers 6 different positions. I also have a deep love for the Solly Baby Wrap, which is where Luke lived for the first 9 months of his life or so. Lukie *loved* being carried and I *loved* carrying him in the Solly Wrap. Emily didn’t love the Solly so much which was disappointing for me, but the Lille baby worked for her for a bit!
For our high chair, we went cheap and I’m so glad we did. The $20 high chair from IKEA has served us very well. It breaks down easily with removable legs so it’s a breeze to toss in your trunk and bring to a friends’ house for dinner. It also doesn’t have a single bit of fabric (other than the straps!) so it’s very easy to clean. The tray does not come off easily so we do not remove it and simply clean the tray while it’s still attached.
I few things I never used was the “pee-pee teepee”, a wipe warmer, pacifier wipes, and shopping cart covers. For me, those were extra things that I just didn’t need for my kids.
P.S. If you liked this post, you may enjoy this one on a last-minute decision we made for Emily’s delivery!
Well, how was your weekend? Are you officially overstuffed with turkey and all the other Thanksgiving food?!
My family and I had a lovely Thanksgiving with my in-laws at our house. It was fun to host for the first time this year but I must admit I was also making a list of key items I was lacking to get the job done. For example, you don’t realize how badly you need a massive cutting board with a juice groove until you try to carve a turkey on one of your flimsy, thin ones.
My father-in-law was literally sharpening my knives and handing them to my mother-in-law as she sliced. It was laughable.
Justin, the kids, and I then drove down to spend the weekend with my parents at their house in South Carolina. I’m so glad they are only 5 hours away! It was a restful and laid back weekend which was exactly what we were looking for.
I’m sitting here at my desk, writing this post in real-time as I didn’t prioritize drafting a few posts for this week during the gift guide race to the finish last week, and I simply cannot believe it’s December 2nd. I am mixed between feeling like I have 1,000 things to accomplish still but also longing for the end of the year in order to start fresh in 2020. January usually brings a bit of a slow down to the life of an Influencer, and I’m ready for it.
Justin and I really savor the quiet time we have in the car during the drives back and forth to my parent’s house while the kids sleep in the back seats. We often talk about things that we don’t typically talk about anywhere else. It’s reflective and deep, and there’s something about the darkness outside and the stillness in the car that makes it easier than ever to speak from the heart. Last night I shared that I had been thinking about two characteristics that I’m really hoping to build in my kids and they are self-awareness and self-confidence. We discussed why we think those are important traits and what we think our parents did for us to develop those traits. It led us to reflect on our individual childhood experiences and prompted a really enjoyable, introspective discussion.
So, I have those thoughts in my mind as we enter into the season of a new year and a new start with January on the horizon. My boys are also going to be turning another year older this month and in February so this is a very normal time for reflection for me anyway!
On a lighter topic, here are a few other things I’m trying to focus on or do this month:
One. As a Christian, this is the time where it would be very easy to miss the point of Christmas altogether with the gift-giving, parties, and all the fun that comes with the holidays. Justin and I are going to do our best to focus on the reason for the season with the kids this year as they are at great ages to begin to understand the Christmas story.
Three. The only fancy date Justin and I go on every year is called “The Christmas Date” and I’m anxious to see what he has planned for us.
Four. I want to donate so many things that we simply haven’t even touched since the move this summer! I mean, if we haven’t touched it in 6 months, we probably don’t need it.
I hope you are feeling rested and ready to have a great “last month of the year”.
