Valentine's Day

I hope you all had the most love-filled Valentine's Day! 

Between Joe and the grandparents we were all extremely loved on yesterday. It felt like a heart-filled, extra chocolaty mini Christmas. Not only did Joe get me a gorgeous bouquet, hummingbird gifts, and lots of chocolates, but he took the kids to the playground for a few hours so I could enjoy some alone time. Best gift ever. I'm one lucky gal. 

I think my favorite part of all was this being the very first school-year Valentine's Day and all the excitement that came along with that. Ez completely embraced the Valentine's spirit of making cards and heart-shaped crafts. I'm not sure what we'll do with our mornings now that it's all over. And while he was so excited to hand out all his Valentine's I don't think he even realized that he'd be receiving cards from all his classmates as well. When we collected his Valentine's out of his art bucket and brought them home he was brimming over with excitement. And boy, did his classmates spoil him! He got stickers and stamps, temp tattoos and pencils, heart-shaped glasses and even a mini skateboard, a race car, a toy soldier (like the ones in Toy Story!!!), and, his personal fave, a little rubber ducky covered in hearts. Oh, and candy. Lots and LOTS of candy. Kids have definitely stepped up their Valentine's game since I was in school...

We capped off the evening with a low key sushi meal, Toy Story, and two boys riding that sugar high. Best Valentine's Day yet. 

Happy Valentine's Day! A Year's Worth of Dates

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends! We've been busy crafting away, making little pom pom love monsters and heart-shaped cards for all the kids in Ez's class, as well as felt roses for his teachers. I always remember making elaborate Valentine's Day cards with my mom growing up and I was so excited to continue this tradition with Ez and Declan once they started school. 

To celebrate this day of love, I thought it'd be fun to recap the past year's worth of date nights and weekend getaways, which don't always get a lot of mention on the blog. Fun fact: we've never hired a babysitter for Ez and Deck. Not once. Thankfully, we do have a few willing family members who take on the job for free (seriously, thank you so much!!) and we managed to do a couple getaways and staycations last year. 

First up, and I'm not sure this should really count as a date, but we like to take opportunity when it presents itself, even if we are mid-move with just hours to pack up half a household. So, in true Joe and Nina fashion, we made the most of our move last January with a mini dinner & cupcake break, followed by scrabble & wine to celebrate our new place. Cheers to that!

Last Valentine's Day we decided to go all out with a weekend getaway to Monterey, where we explored the wharf, and the beach, and, possibly my favorite part, we met a super playful otter putting on a show for us just as we were about to leave. 

In March we opted for a staycation, and wandered around Sacramento, checking out coffee houses, bookstores, the Governor's Mansion, and basically all the stuff we've always wanted to explore that don't include a playground 😉

A family trip to Disneyland may not seem like a date, BUT, if you go with enough family there's always a chance to sneak off for a mini date to ride the big kid rides while someone else watches the kids. Definitely one of our favorite date spots (as if you didn't know that already!)

Between May and June we were too busy doing family stuff for a real date night, but we made up for it in July with a movie date to see Wonder Woman and a birthday weekend getaway to Tahoe & Reno. Gambling, a cirque du soleil type performance, LOTS of good food, and kayaking - one of my favorite birthdays yet. 

September was one year married for us!! We celebrated with sushi (pretty much a given on 9 out of 10 of our date nights) and our first movie at the Tower Theater (Wind River - surprisingly good), a trip to the California Museum, and, of course, cutting into our year old cake (also surprisingly good). 

November was DISNEY WORLD!! We had a pretty good day date around Epcot, which is basically THE dream date spot. Tons of great food, drinks, and beautiful scenery. I wish we lived close enough for regular date nights there. 

Somehow, in the midst of Christmas shopping, and wrapping, and colds, and family time we snuck out to see Lady Bird, which I've already raved about on Instagram because it's all filmed in Sacramento. Being able to watch it in Tower Theater and recognize all the landmarks was such a special experience. 

And that brings us back to January, with not one, but two date nights. First up was a trip to see Star Wars, which at first we liked, but as the movie sank in, we realized we didn't like it so much after all. Then we capped the month off with another staycation where we tried a new to us restaurant and went to see the Sacramento Contemporary Dance company, followed by a cozy night watching Chicago and playing Mario Kart. 

What a year we've had! Fitting in romance between potty training, and the preschool plague, and all the other madness that comes with raising two rambunctious boys is not easy, but I'm so lucky that Joe always makes it a priority to schedule in time for just the two of us AND come up with creative date ideas. 

Happy Valentine's Day to my bff, partner in crime (and parenting), the funniest person I know, my soulmate. Men like you are one in a million, and I definitely won the lottery with you. 

PS - Did I mention how lucky I am? ❤

Happy Valentine's Day! My 5 Favorite Memories of Joe

Happy Valentine's Day! I wish you all a love and chocolate-filled day. 

In honor of our 5th Valentine's Day together I'm sharing five of my favorite pre-kid memories of Joe and I. First of all, it's pretty crazy that this is only our fifth Valentine's Day because it feels like we've experienced decades worth of adventures together already. Just narrowing it down to five favorite memories was so hard, and I'm leaving tons of good ones out. I guess I'll just have to save those for another Valentine's Day <3 

1. My most favorite vacation of all time was our babymoon to Kauai almost exactly four years ago. I could easily pick a dozen favorite memories from that trip alone, from snorkeling, to nearly capsizing while kayaking because Joe just had to collect giant leaves from the water, dropping Ez's baby shoes in the ocean, the roosters and the cats, hunting down the malasada lady, the waterfalls and the gorgeous beaches, everything about it was so magical and I couldn't imagine a better travel buddy to experience it with. 

2. Joe does infamously bad impersonations of everyone. Like intentionally really bad. And he used to do one of my cat that cracked me up. One time my cat jumped off our third story balcony and disappeared for a week. Definitely not funny when it happened, but after we found him and enough time had passed for us to look back and laugh he made up a song in my cat's "voice" to the tune of Call Me Maybe:

I jumped off the balcony

Call me crazy

Look for me next door

Find me maybe

That's just one of many, many examples of Joe's goofball side I could give you, but I still crack up thinking of my crazy cat whenever that song comes on.

3. Speaking of making the best of awful situations, a few months before I got pregnant with Ez we found out I was having an ectopic pregnancy. So basically we went from not knowing I was pregnant, to finding out I was, to finding out something was wrong, to finding out I needed immediate emergency surgery to remove part of my fallopian tube. A rollercoaster of emotions all in the span of a day. It probably seems weird that this would make my list of favorite memories but through it all Joe was not only by my side, but he really made me feel safer and even managed to make me laugh a few times despite me being terrified. As awful as that whole situation was I really learned just how much I could lean on Joe in the worst situation and it ultimately made our relationship stronger. And while we're at being able to lean on Joe, he has literally saved mine, Ez, and Declan's lives (me from being stranded on the side of a cliff while hiking and he had to heimlich Ez and Declan once each). He's our hero. 

4. Back when we were trying to secretly date at work (and failing miserably at the secretive part) we used to have all kinds of code names and gestures for each other. Thankfully Joe gives all his coworkers nicknames, so it was a little less obvious, but we called each other blank because I slipped up and called him babe once, so we just started calling each other "blank" all the time as a neutral nickname, and it's stuck. I still call him that all the time. Also rubbing our eyebrow meant I love you. LU & MU were love you and miss you when we were using the company messenger. Though if they really monitored our messages I'm sure it would've been obvious we were dating. Also, not super creative, I know ;) I have a feeling I'm leaving quite a few out, but those are the most memorable ones.

5. We have many Disneyland trips under our belt by now but on our very first trip together while I was barely pregnant with Ez we took all kinds of "baby bump" pictures around the park (nevermind that my baby bump was basically nonexistent). Annnnnd then all the photos got deleted. So what did Joe do? He took us back for a second trip just so we could recreate all the pictures. (And because who really needs an excuse to go to Disneyland?) The first (two) of many great Disney dates together.

If you made it through my long rambling trip down memory lane, thanks for following along! 

And to Joe:

Thank you for all the hard work you do for our family. It's crazy that five short years ago you really didn't have to worry about anything other than yourself and now look at how much you've taken on. Me plus two crazy kiddos and you take care of all of us so well. I couldn't imagine a better partner to be on this crazy ride called life with. I love you to infinity and beyond. 

Will you be my Valentine?

Valentine's Gifts for Her

// eternity rings // quilted backpack // heart ring // origins skincare // shoes //

Three posts in one week? Who am I??! Apparently all it took to wake me from my blogger slumber was Valentine's Day. I can't resist everything pink and heart shaped. And chocolatey. Obviously. 

In the past I've given some ideas for toddler Valentine gifts and some sentimental DIY gifts for your significant other, so this year I thought it was about time I put together a little list just for us girls. Do I need gifts to know Joe loves me? Of course not. He works so hard for our family and does little things like filling my car up with gas before I even wake up in the morning which means so much to me. Still, it'd probably be a little depressing to get nothing for Valentine's Day. 

It really doesn't have to be huge or expensive either. A handwritten love note along with some flowers and chocolates is pretty much perfect. Joe's been slipping little love notes in my purse every now and then since Christmas and it's the best surprise ever. I know I'll cherish reading those over and over for decades. Of course, anything sparkly and/or pink is always welcome as well ;)

What's your favorite way to celebrate Valentine's Day? Gifts or no gifts? Fancy dinner out or intimate dinner in? We haven't finalized our plans yet, but we're hoping the grandparents will take the kiddos for a night so we can eat somewhere without grilled cheese on the menu.

Valentine Crafts for Your Littles

One of the best things about Pinterest is the whole world of crafting possibilities that I never would've thought up on my own. The worst thing about Pinterest? Pinning way more crafts that I could ever complete in a lifetime. There's just too many cute ones to choose from. Here are seven of my favorites from my Valentine's board, and if I'm being honest here we'll be lucky to complete one or two of these this year. 

1. No Time for Flashcards has the perfect toddler heart Valentine craft. There's no precision required, not a ton of prep time, minimal supplies, and this would look adorable hanging up on the wall of the playroom.
2. I am so intrigued by these melting hearts over at Kid's Play Box. If we get around to these this year it'll probably be more for me than for Ez ;)
3. This thumbprint heart tree from Easy Peasy and Fun is basically a must-do. I can't say no to pink hearts and preserving Ez and Declan's tiny little fingerprints forever all in one adorable art piece.
4. I've been wanting to make a holiday sun catcher ever since I first saw Courtney over at Sweet Turtle Soup do it, and I somehow just never remember to pick up the supplies when we're at the craft store. Fingers crossed this is the year we get around to it, and this heart handprint version from Crafty Texas Girls is perfect for Valentine's Day. 
5. It doesn't get much cuter than Love Bugs!! The Chirping Moms have six adorable Valentine bug crafts and I kinda want to do them ALL. 
6. These thumbprint heart magnets are perfect grandparent gifts. So simple and sweet. Head over to First Grade Blue Skies for instructions.
7. No Time for Flashcards did it again with 14 different Valentine books and accompanying crafts. If I was on top of my holiday crafting game we could have been doing one each day leading up to Valentine's Day. Of course, I'm not, so if I had to pick just one it'd be this Huggy Kissy paper hug. 

And for nostalgia's sake, I've also done a little roundup of our past Valentine crafting adventures. Spoiler alert, we're huge fans of heart shaped sponge painting. It's kinda our fave. 

1. Last year we made these photo and illustration Valentine's for the grandparents. 
2. Two years ago Ez and I made dozens of sponge heart Valentine's for all our blogger friends. 
3. And we also made a DIY Valentine mailbox using an old shoe box. 
4. Apparently 2015 was a very productive crafting year for us because we also made handprint Valentine's for the grandparents. 

Wishing you all a hearts and flowers and chocolate-filled week!

Our Weekend: Valentine's Day

I kicked off Valentine's weekend by leaving the boys behind so I could go to a writing workshop in San Francisco. Not exactly the most romantic thing in the world, but it was so good for my mind and soul. Meanwhile Joe stayed behind with Ez and Declan for their very first boys day, which went pretty well except for one tiny little swing-related head injury. 

On Sunday morning I was up bright and early thanks to Declan, and Joe was up even earlier to go to the gym and pick up donuts (and flowers!), so we started our Valentine's Day with some coffee, donuts, and Uno. Perfect start to any day, if you ask me. Once Ez woke up we opened gifts. I already mentioned what the boys got here, and Joe got a poorly illustrated (by me) storybook of how we met (you can read the abbreviated version here). I got spoiled with some beautiful jewelry, and of course my new iphone which we picked out last weekend. 

Then it was off to my family's house to drop the boys off so Joe and I could go see Deadpool. On the way there we did quizzes from this book, and it led to lots of fun conversations. I highly recommend checking it out. While Deadpool is not the most traditionally romantic movie, we both loved it. We were cracking up almost the whole way through. Originally we were going to see Zoolander, but it got terrible reviews, and we see so few movies in the theaters we didn't want to waste it on something below average. I'm interested to hear if other Zoolander fans that have seen it would recommend it. 

After the movie we did what every parent dreams of: shopping without the kiddos. I think we wandered up and down every single aisle at Target, just because we could. And we had to talk ourselves out of buying more toys, because apparently we're worse than Ez when it comes to collecting all things Cars and Planes. We stuck to some of those mess free coloring books, and put everything else back, which showed great restraint on our parts. 

Then it was back home for some All Stars basketball. Ez became obsessed. Every commercial break he would start chanting: more basketball! Then he'd run off to the kitchen to shoot baskets in his little over-the-door hoop. Declan likes to trail Ez everywhere, so he decided to sit directly under the hoop so he could get hit in the head with each shot. They both seemed to enjoy it though, which is all that matters. 

Hope you all had a great weekend full of love and celebration with your Valentines!

Kid's Valentine's Cards & Gifts

Hopefully the grandparents have received their Valentine's already. If not, here's a little sneak peek.

We went with the same idea as last year and I cut a sponge into a heart shape and let Ez go at it with some pink and purple paint. I saw these adorable Sophie & Lili Valentine's, but unfortunately they only had girl designs, so using my very limited, practically nonexistent artistic skills I did my best drawing of Ez and Declan. It is surprisingly hard to draw a baby, and obviously they're much cuter in person, which is why we also made a second Valentine with an actual picture.

To make these we used some white card stock and I cut a heart shape out of the center of one. We then used the cut out heart as a stencil and painted around the edges on another piece of card stock.  After it was all dry I sketched their pictures in the white heart space. We also painted the other piece with the heart cutout and turned that into a frame. Voila! Easy and fun for Ez.  

Here's a little glimpse at Ez and Declan's Valentine's gifts:

Last year Ez got a stuffed Lightning McQueen, so this year we went with planes. I found these cute free printables, but my printer wouldn't cooperate so I improvised and made my own using the heart cutouts from our cards. He's also getting a toy jet, some chocolates and a balloon. And because the Disney store was having a buy one get one for a dollar sale on plush toys he's getting a stuffed Nemo. Finding Nemo is one of the few non-vehicle related movies that he actually likes and he has a tiny plastic toy Nemo which I've had to confiscate because a certain someone tried to eat it, so this is his replacement.

I can't believe Declan only has a few first holidays left before his birthday. Fastest first year ever. Here's what we got him:

Sticking with the elephant theme that I'm so fond of I got him a Winnie the Pooh elephant tsum tsum, and was going to use this printable, but you know what happened. He's also getting a Plum baby food in festive red and pink colors, a balloon, and a stuffed Mickey.

For Valentine's Day this year we're planning on dropping the boys off with my family and going to the movies. Got any fun dates planned this weekend?

Our Love Story

In honor of Valentine's Day I thought I'd share how Joe and I met. To give a little background info, I was engaged for several years before I met Joe. I had accepted that engagement with the unspoken idea that it would be a long engagement because I didn't really want to get married right then, but I assumed one day eventually I would. Obviously this is an awful and completely unfair way to accept a proposal and I'd do things differently in that situation knowing what I do now. Eventually I started feeling the pressure to actually follow through and get married and I found myself asking everyone I knew how do you know if you're supposed to be with someone for the rest of your life. Every single person gave me the exact same answer: you just know. It was like some awful, annoying conspiracy. I wanted details, facts, something specific and tangible that I could measure my relationship by. After about a year of asking around I finally had an epiphany and realized that people who "just know" aren't going around questioning their relationship, and so we parted ways

About seven months later, during mine and Joe's birthday week, I met Joe when he interviewed me for a job, which, spoiler alert, I got. A few weeks before that I was working for awful bosses at a job I hated and one day one of the bosses yelled at me while he was eating lunch and food flew out of his mouth. It was super disgusting and the last straw and I immediately started looking for a new job. At the time it seemed like the worst day ever, but looking back I think it was fate.

After a few weeks working together Joe and I planned on seeing a movie together as friends but the power was out and the theater was closed. We wound up driving around Pasadena just talking and Joe showed me all the landmarks from his childhood. In hindsight maybe the power being out was fate too because I'm sure we got to know each other much better than if we'd been sitting silently watching a movie.

Another one of our first dates involved hiking at one of Joe's favorite spots. Instead of following the trail like normal people we took what Joe called a "shortcut". His shortcut just happened to lead straight to a cliff, and once again we decided we'd be better off making our own path and trying to hike up the side of the mountain instead of backtracking to the trail. Long story short I wound up stuck halfway up the mountain which I decided was too steep to climb up or down any further. I was just clinging to a rusty old pipe and a tree branch that happened to be growing out of the side of the mountain, praying that no snakes came slithering along. Apparently snakes are more scary to me than plummeting off a cliff. Joe had to run all the way back to the trail at the top where he threw his backpack attached to a dog leash down to me so he could pull me up. Of course I was like hell no, there's no way that leash is going to hold me. He assured me the leash was made for 150lb dogs and it would hold. Also, my options were pretty limited, so I took a leap of faith and held on. When I was safely at the top he told me he made up the whole 150lb dog thing. Depending on how you look at it, Joe either saved my life, or nearly killed me. We'll give him the benefit of doubt though ;) I'm not going to call this fate, this probably falls more in the category of dumb luck, but thankfully it all worked out.

After that things progressed really quickly. While I wouldn't exactly call it love at first sight, it was pretty close. Four and a half years later and we're now a family of four. It's been a crazy ride full of so many laughs, surprises, adventures and so much love. 

Here's wishing a very happy Valentine's Day to my one and only. To the person who finally made me understand all that "just knowing" stuff. Cheers to one day sitting in our rocking chairs on our porch watching our great grandchildren laugh and run around the yard. 

And Happy Valentine's Day to all the rest of you other lovebirds out there!