Personalized Valentine's Gift Ideas

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Since we share finances it's hard to surprise Joe with gifts. For Christmas I tried really hard to keep his gift under wraps. I bought a gift card at the grocery store and then bought his gift so it would just look like I'd bought groceries. I was patting myself on the back for finding a loophole to surprise him. But then his present arrived with a giant picture of what was inside on all sides of the box while I was away and he was home. So all my sneakiness was for nothing. Thanks Amazon.

For Valentine's Day I prefer a more DIY gift approach. Maybe not homemade, per say, but something personal that takes a little time and effort. A few of these ideas are gifts from the past few years, and the others are cute ideas I found while browsing Etsy. Such a dangerous place.

1. 101 Quizzes for Couples - This book has some fun, light-hearted questions, ie: Friends or Seinfeld? as well as more in depth questions, like "What's one trait you hope I'll pass on to our kids?" It really covers all the bases, from jobs, to bucket lists, to how you like the bed made, to sex, to raising kids. Turns out you can cram a lot into 101 quizzes. And for the most part there are no wrong answers. Except maybe the "What's my most annoying quality?" question. That one's a trap, fellas!

2. Illustrated Portrait - We have a love of caricatures over here, but there are so many great artists, on Etsy or elsewhere, that have amazing styles for illustrated portraits. It's definitely a fun addition to a gallery wall.

3. Your Love Story - You can create your own illustrated love story using Love Book. They have templates for characters, backgrounds, possible page ideas (like: I love your abs), or blank pages so you can write your own story. Such a cool idea, and under $40 too.

4. Heart Collage - I may be slightly addicted to these heart collages. I made one for Declan's room using his birth and newborn photos. I also made one for each of the grandparents for Christmas using pictures of Ez and Declan from the past year. It's already heart-shaped and if you made one with just the two of you without <gasp!> the kids, it's a pretty cute Valentine's gift.

5. Photo Book - You probably think I work for Shutterfly with as much as I plug their brand, but nope, I just love their stuff. I should probably own their stock based on how much stuff I buy from them. I know there are plenty of great photo book companies out there, but since I've already got tons of my photos on Shutterfly, I'm in too deep to switch brands. I made this particular book pre-kids, and it's a bunch of our date photos all in one place. Ez loves to look through it too.

6. Couple Magnets - These are adorable. You send the artist of picture of the two of you and she creates personalized felt magnets. I kind of want some for all four of us.

7. Scrap Book - For the most part I like to purge my belongings, but when it comes to sentimental things I'm a bit of a hoarder. I have a tendency to hold onto stuff like ticket stubs, wrist bands, brochures, and maps for no good reason. After I'd brought my little bag filled with date memorabilia along on three different moves, I finally decided to compile it all into one scrap book and give it to Joe last Valentine's Day. I just bought a fairly cheap photo book with the self-sticking pages, some heart stickers and red and silver washi tape, printed out some photos, and went to town. I'm no scrap-booking expert, but it's fun to be able to look back at all the mementos that wouldn't make their way into a Shutterfly photo book:

Anyone else like to DIY for Valentine's Day? 

Gifts for Car Loving Toddlers

What to get for the kid that has everything? That's the question I keep getting lately. Ez and Declan are the only grandchildren in our family, so to say that they get a little spoiled is a huge understatement. 

Ez's favorite thing in the world is cars. The Pixar movie, watching actual cars drive by, hot wheels, construction vehicles, planes, trains, motorcycles...you get the point. But he's got about a hundred hot wheels and every single Cars character that has been made into a toy, including characters that are on screen for a total of .35 seconds. I'm looking at you Mama Bernoulli. So after scouring Amazon I've put together a little list of cars-themed books and toys for the kid that already has it all. All of these are either already a huge hit in our house or on the list for Santa this year.

Let me go ahead and preface this by saying that this is not a comprehensive list of all of Ez's favorite Cars books, but these are the ones that I find most bearable to read on repeat for half an hour at time, several times a day, for weeks on end. Or until they mysteriously disappear. 

1. Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site - Construction vehicles, rhymes...what more could a toddler ask for?
2. Little Blue Truck's Christmas - Little Blue Truck can do no wrong. Plus there are car or animal sounds in each book, which instantly makes it a hit.
3. Little Blue Truck
4. Red Truck - Shorter and less popular than his Blue Truck counterpart, this book comes into rotation pretty frequently around here, especially because I happened to find a dollar bin red truck replica at Michaels. 
5. Race From A to Z - Ez and I both have this entire book memorized. And thanks to this book Ez can now recognize all his letters as well as tell you what vehicle each letter is associated with (ie - G for Gabby Garbage Truck). Remember a few months back when we drove seven hours to Disneyland? A good portion of that drive was spent reciting this book. Over and over. Sorry again, Uncle Brett. This book definitely takes home the book of the year prize as far as Ez is concerned.
6. Little Blue Truck Leads the Way 
7. Cars Look and Find - This was a cheap find at our library's annual book sale and boy was it worth the quarter we paid. It's basically a toddler level Where's Waldo, but with Cars. There's no real story involved, but Ez has learned a ton of new words like "anti-freeze" "motor oil" "transmission fluid" etc. I'm starting to think he'll grow up to be a mechanic. It's also pretty amazing that he can spot tiny details that even Joe and I didn't see until he pointed them out.
8. Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night - This was a gift from our Secret Santa book exchange and it's already in our top 12 list. 
9. Truckery Rhymes - The Trucktown books are hit or miss in my opinion, but this one got 5 stars so we added it to the list for this year. 
10. My Big Truck Book - Ez was completely absorbed by this last time we went to the book store. He's at the age where he wants to know technical names for things. Instead of getting away with calling every construction vehicle a bulldozer, he now knows that some of them are excavators or cranes. I have a feeling that means I have to up my vehicle recognition game as well, so this book may be a necessity. 
11. Yellow Copter - written by the same author as Red Truck.
12. Cars Busy Books - For about $10 you not only get a board book, but you also get a dozen mini toy cars, and some road maps to drive the cars on. Ez has loved these for awhile now, so we branched out and bought some other books in the series, but a lot of them suck. The Planes one is basically unreadable. But this Cars book is actually pretty catchy, it rhymes, and it's another one that Ez and I have memorized.

I'm sure I've left some great books off this list, so shoot me a list of your favorites. We could definitely use a little variety in our story time.

1. Construction Vehicle Set - Every kid needs a construction vehicle starter kit. Ez obviously has these in various sizes, not to mention a few tractors for good measure. 
2. Vehicle Jigsaw Puzzle - Ez just recently graduated from the peg puzzles to jigsaws, and he's obsessed. This was the first one he could complete on his own and it's still a favorite.
3. Little Blue Truck - Ez likes to have this on hand when we're reading all three of the Little Blue Truck books.
4. Magformers Car Set - I'm really excited about this gift. I hadn't even heard of Magformers until Liz posted about them, and since her son Mason and Ez have similar car-based interests I not only looked them up, but I entered her giveaway and....<drum roll>...WON! Probably the best thing I've ever won and Ez is going to love it.
5. VTech Smart Wheels RC Speedway - This was another tip from Liz and I'm kinda shocked Ez didn't have this already. Needless to say this is gonna be a pretty big Christmas with two RC cars to look forward to.
6. Construction Peg Puzzle - The puzzle that started the puzzle obsession. I think it's about time for this one to be retired while we still have all the pieces to pass on to Declan, but it was a good year long run while it lasted.
7. Sticker Activity Pad - Stickers are a big deal around here. Especially if they've got cars or airplanes on them. Bonus points that they're something Ez and I can do together while I'm simultaneously nursing Declan, so needless to say we go through them pretty fast.
8. Goodnight Construction Site Magnets - Magnets are also a big deal around here. Ez likes to put them on the fridge, then knock them all over the floor and begin the whole process over while I cook dinner or wash dishes in the evening.

Anyone else have car-loving kids? What's on their wish list this year? 

Ez's 2 Year Old Wishlist

I was reading Callie's birthday wishlist over at The Chronicles of We, and I realized two things: one - her and Ez's birthdays are super close, and two - I should probably get to work planning Ez's birthday and whatnot ;) 

Ez has so many toys we could open up a toy shop from our living room and still have cars leftover. He really doesn't need anything for his birthday, and his favorite birthday present would probably be for visitors to come over and sit on the floor to play trains or cars with him. But for anyone that does still want to get him something I've put together some ideas of things he's shown interest in and doesn't already have.

1. Lighting McQueen Sheet Set - Ez just got his big boy bed, so I'm hoping some of his favorite Disney characters will make it that much more inviting to him.
2. Stacking Train - We came across this at a children's store and Ez was having a grand ol time playing with it while I got to shop in peace. I pretty much had to drag him away when it was time to go.

3. Animals Sound Puzzle - Puzzle + animal sounds = nuf said! They also make one with car sounds, which I'm sure he'd love too.

4. Music Set - Ez has some cymbals and a maraca which he has been loving lately, so it'd be fun to expand his instrument collection a little. Who knows, maybe he's a future rock star? ;)
5. Little Helper Broom Set - Ez is a little weirdo and he loves to clean. He's especially obsessed with the broom and dustpan, so I'm pretty sure he'd go crazy over one his own size.
6. Water Table - Apparently all toddlers love these things, and since Ez loves splashing in any body of water he comes across, this would probably be hours if entertainment for him.

Other ideas: 

Ez is obsessed with cars, motorcycles, planes, and pretty much anything that goes. He also loves all things Disney Cars.

4T clothes would be best, since he's already pretty well stocked on 3T.

Pampers Splashers Swim Pants in size 5 would be incredibly useful!

I know I keep saying it, but I still can't believe I'll have a 2 year old in less than three weeks! What are your toddlers favorite toys/gifts? Anything I'm leaving off the list?

8 Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Stackable Circle Necklace // Korres Beauty Shots Ultimate Mask Collection // Manicure/Pedicure // Illume "You Rock" Glass Votive // Spafinder Wellness 365 Gift Card $50 // Tshirt & Jeans Faux Leather Backpack in Sand // Shutterfly Photo Book // Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, Pink

Mother's Day is only a few short weeks away! Crazy to think that two years ago I was in labor on Mother's Day (Ez was born 3 hours later). Since we're usually busy party-planning for Ez, Mother's Day tends to get lost in the birthday shuffle around here (this year Ez's party is the Saturday before, just like last year). I still think it's important to make mom feel special though - hopefully every day - but especially on Mother's Day.

// Indulgent //

The number one most important thing on Mother's Day is to make mom feel loved, indulged, pampered, and relaxed. To start with, you can tell mom how much she rocks with this cute scented candle by Illume. I've bought several of their candles from Anthropologie and they have the best scents, last forever, and make the entire house smell amazing. I'm also a huge fan of face masks, and this set of 4 fruit-infused Korres face masks is perfect for spring & summer. Or you can splurge a little and send mom to the spa for a massage, or out to get her nails done. Even though it is Mother's Day, a little kiddo-free time for relaxing and beautifying is always appreciated!

// Accessorize //

Made with Love by Angie has the cutest hand-stamped jewelry and keychains. Once we settle on a name for baby Craig #2 I definitely want one of these stackable engraved necklaces (so maybe as a birthday present, wink wink!). Also, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, and I tell anyone who will listen, but backpacks are so much comfier and more convenient than purses! Especially when you need two hands to wrangle a toddler. Yes, it makes me a little sad to have a closet full of purses that I never use anymore, but if ever there was a time to jump on the backpack bandwagon, it's now. There are so many cute styles in all shapes and sizes at pretty much any store you go to. Personally I'm a fan of the neutral color and medium-sized classic style (and price!) of this Tshirt & Jeans Backpack. 

// Fitness //

Unless mom is already into fitness, or has expressed interest, you might want to stay away from this one since you don't want to awkwardly hint at anything. But if she is trying to move more a Fitbit is the perfect gift. I feel like I'm the last person to jump on the Fitbit bandwagon, but I know a ton of people who have them and love them. I use the pedometer app on my phone, but I think a Fitbit would be a lot more accurate and motivating since it's on you at all times. 

// Keepsake //

Personalized gifts that take some thought and time are the best kinds of gifts. I'm a huge fan of Shutterfly photo books and have made at least one for pretty much everyone in the family. I've actually made Joe four already! Shutterfly makes a great quality book, and they print them up and send them out super fast. They have a ton of themes, sizes, color schemes, and you can either upload your photos and let them organize it for you (by date), or you can make it more personalized by arranging everything yourself (which is usually the route I go). Also, if you're new to Shutterfly they give you discounts when you sign up, otherwise you can find coupons all over the internet, so this makes a great meaningful yet inexpensive gift.

Do you have any special Mother's Day traditions? What's your idea of the perfect Mother's Day?