Ornament Exchange

I may have gone a teensy bit overboard with Christmas exchanges this year, but I just couldn't help myself. All my favorite blogger ladies are hosting so many great exchanges this month and I wanted to do them all! So I did ;)

When I saw that Crystal was co-hosting an ornament exchange I was so excited to join in. Ornaments are such fun surprises to receive in the mail. There really is no such thing as a bad Christmas ornament. I love them all. And as much fun as it was to receive my happy mail package from Jessica over at Life. Love. Reality., I had even more fun picking out an ornament just for her. After doing a little Q&A and finding out that she liked elephants I was set on finding an elephant-themed ornament for her. I searched high and low and came up empty handed though, so instead I went for the most Christmasy ornament I could find. Head on over and check it out! (PS - I found an elephant one at Cost Plus as soon as I'd already mailed hers. Of course!)

As for me? Jessica totally spoiled me. She sent me three ornaments and I love them all! I love how the light color pops against the tree. They're perfectly coordinated and sparkly and glittery. Also I never realized it before, but I guess my tree does kinda have a bird theme, so these new ones fit in perfectly. Thank you so much, Jessica! They're loving their new home way at the top of the tree where all our surviving ornaments have gathered because...toddlers.

If you'd like to check out everyone else's ornaments be sure to click below:

Thanks for hosting ladies! This was so much fun!

Secret Santa Book Exchange

This is our third year participating in Ashley, Elizabeth, and Courtney's Secret Santa Mommy & Me Book Exchange and I just love it more every year. We still read Little Blue Truck's Christmas and Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night on repeat, both gifts from this exchange. Last year Declan was just old enough to really get a kick out of the bubble wrap, but this year he loves books just as much as Ez which made it double the fun. 

Ez, Declan, Joe, and I had a ton of fun heading over to Barnes and Noble to pick out some books for super sweet and relatable Kimberly and her cute sons Nick and Alec over at 518 NY Mamma of 2. Be sure to head on over and check out their gifts!

As for us? We were totally spoiled by Courtney and Aria, who sent not one, but two books for Ez and Declan to enjoy. Super sweet. And all the more amazing considering Courtney just gave birth to adorable Lincoln, yet she still had time to host this exchange and pick out the perfect books for us. Right after I had Declan I spent a good amount of time lounging on the couch while the family survived on popcorn and cereal. Can you say super mom? Thank you so much Courtney, Aria, and baby Lincoln! 

I picked up a Little People Santa train for the boys and I thought it'd be fun to give them their books and train together to kick off the season. They couldn't wait to dive into their first Christmas present and as soon as the box was unpacked we wasted no time reading Eight Jolly Reindeer and Old MacDonald Had a Truck over and over to the tune of Santa's train choo chooing and blasting Christmas music. A perfectly merry start to all the Christmas festivities.

Oh, and I forgot to snap a pic but I got The Little Paris Bookshop, which is absolutely perfect for me, considering I spent years working in a book store and the author and I share a name. Can't wait to read! Thanks again, Courtney!

Be sure to head on over and check out everyone else's books! I love getting new ideas for my book list this way.

Thanks for hosting, ladies! We love this exchange so much!

Stocking Stuffer Exchange

When I saw that Whitney, Amy, and Jess were hosting a stocking stuffer exchange I was 100% in. Stocking stuffers are my FAVE, and as the official Santa in the house, stuffing the stockings falls under my domain. That means it's been a long while since I've had surprises in my stocking come Christmas morning. I love the giving part of Christmas, I really do. Shopping for kids and seeing their faces light up is definitely my favorite part of Christmas. But it's nice to take a break right in the midst of finding those perfect gifts for everyone else and get a bit of happy mail just for yourself.

I got partnered with Annie from Home of Malones and had such a fun time browsing her blog and getting to know her and her sweet children a little better. Annie made an excellent secret Santa and went above and beyond by not only getting me an actual stocking, which made the whole experience that much more fun and authentic, but she even sent it in a festive red package. It really was like Christmas came early.

Annie gave me a great blend of useful gifts and pampering, indulgent treats. I spy a lot of stuff I've been coveting from Target's dollar section (which is pretty much all the stuff, to be honest).

I can tell that my gift wrapping game is gonna step it up a notch this year thanks to all these fun add-ons (yes, I know those are drink stirrers, but I'm thinking they'll look super cute on top of presents too):

Not sure if you realized this Annie, but fuzzy socks and face masks are literally my fave Christmas stocking stuffers. Leggings, fuzzy socks, and baggy sweaters are my lounging around the house uniform.

And last but not least, some fun treats that my kids have already stolen ;) Not pictured are the super cute Christmas hand towels which for some reason Ez took a liking to and swiped right away. Why do we even buy him toys?

Thank you Annie! I love it all!

Make sure to head on over to Annie's blog and see her goodies, then check out all the stocking stuffers over at Whitney's for some fun Christmas shopping ideas!

Thanks for hosting, ladies!! I loved this exchange!

Mother's Day Exchange

This is my second year participating in one of my favorite blogger exchanges, the Mother's Day Exchange. I think all moms can agree that most of day to day life is all about the kids. I go to Target and find myself spending more time browsing monster trucks than nail polish and candles. If we're at the mall shopping for clothes I'll walk away with a bagful of toddler clothes and zero women's items. It's not even deliberate, it's just once we had kids my brain shifted and now I naturally gravitate toward kid's stuff. So it's much much appreciated when someone else takes the time to pick out a few of my favorite things. Especially when that someone happens to be my most favorite blogger of all, Courtney over at Sweet Turtle Soup. She is just the sweetest, most thoughtful person. Knowing that I like books, she actually went out of her way to scope out my Goodreads list and pick a book that's been top of my list for about a year that I still haven't gotten around to buying for myself. I'm already a third of the way through and I LOVE it. And you better believe those bath bombs are getting used this weekend. A little pampering and relaxation is the best way to spend Mother's Day, if you ask me. Thank you so much Courtney!!

Also, a huge thanks to Courtney and Liz for organizing this exchange. Not only did I have so much fun opening up all my sweet gifts, but I also loved getting to know a new-to-me blogger, Ashley over at Everything's Hunky Dorey. I had so much fun picking out Ashley's gifts and sending a little happy mail package her way. Be sure to head over and check out what she got.

And to all the mom's, have a great weekend being spoiled and pampered and loved on by your littles. Happy Mother's Day!

Secret Santa Book Exchange

December really is the best month of the year. There are so many festive traditions that I look forward to all year long. And one of my favorite blogger traditions is the secret Santa book exchange. Last year we got Little Blue Truck's Christmas from Sara, Mac, and Mim and it's still a huge hit in this house. A big thank you to Courtney, Liz, and Ashley for hosting. This year we got paired up with Jessica, Hayden, and Charlotte over at Hey, Little Momma. Ez, Hayden, and Charlotte had similar book wish lists, so we had a ton of fun at the book store picking out their gifts. Make sure to hop over and see what we sent them. 

And us? We made out like bandits thanks to Jess and Sadie from Sadie Sky Blog, who sent us some fabulous books which have already been read too many times to count. You may have picked up on this if you've read this blog for any amount of time, but Ez is car obsessed. So Jess picked out the perfect books when she sent over Where Do Diggers Sleep? and Construction From A to Z. 

First of all, thank you Jess for sending a book for each kid. That went above and beyond because Declan was seriously so excited by the bubble wrap. I saved it so he could have some entertainment and distraction while we eat dinner each night. A full week of being able to eat with two hands is priceless. Best baby toy EVER. And Ez is so in love with both books. We have read each book no less than a hundred times each. 

Obviously mom reading time is more scarce, but I'm so excited for Mrs. Hemingway. I read The Paris Wife earlier this year and when I read an interesting book I want to follow the trail and read every book on the topic, so Mrs. Hemingway is the second book I'm reading about Hadley Hemingway. 

And a little video of Declan and his bubble wrap:

I'm excited to check out what everyone else got. It's always fun getting some mommy and mini reading recommendations:

Christmas in July

I don't know if you've noticed this, but summer is seriously lacking in holidays. Especially of the present-giving variety. Thankfully Courtney, Elizabeth, Jamie, and Amanda took care of that with a Christmas in July blogger gift exchange. The more Christmases, the better! 

Ally over at Even Miracles Take a Little Time and her adorable daughter Lia put together the sweetest box full of fun gifts for Ez, and even included a little something for Declan. Talk about spoiling us! Ever since his birthday, Ez has really gotten the hang of present-opening. In fact, he's a little overzealous and assumes anything in a bag or box is a present for him. All our explanations otherwise have so far fallen on deaf ears. But last Thursday was his lucky day, because he got a whole box full of wrapped gifts to open up! Talk about toddler paradise. 

Ally hit all the bases as far as Ez's interests go. There were some construction vehicles, some dinosaurs, some wands, a puzzle, books, vehicle flash cards, and monster truck stickers. Stickers are actually a new obsession over here, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect. We immediately tore into those and got to work sticking them onto a card and peeling them off over and over again. Throughout the day he kept going back to the box and rediscovering something new. Thank you so much Ally, you really made it feel like Christmas over here!

Be sure to head over to the linkup to check out everyone else enjoying their gifts. Merry Christmas in July!

A lil something for baby bro. So sweet!

Mother's Day Blogger Exchange

I seriously love this blogging community. While I'm sitting over here with pregnancy brain/mom-of-a-toddler brain, they come up with all kinds of fun exchanges and crafty ideas, and I get to just jump on the bandwagon and join in on the fun without actually organizing and planning stuff. So a huge thanks to three of my fave bloggers: Courtney, Jenny, and Liz for putting together a Mother's Day Exchange where I got to know two sweet new-to-me bloggers, and got a totally spoiled in the process.

I was paired with Emily, mom to adorable Avery Mae, and blogger over at Raising Avery Mae. I found out she lives about thirty minutes from where I grew up (and in the same town where about half my family still lives), and is a fellow vegetarian and margarita lover. Such a small world, and I never would've met her if it weren't for this exchange! Be sure to hop on over, check out her fun family adventures, and see what I got her for Mother's Day.

The second blogger I met through this exchange was Katie, the super generous and talented owner of: Creative House Shop and blogger over at Creative House Blog. Katie really pampered and spoiled the heck out of me for Mother's Day. Not only did I get the most adorable Mama Bear mug and decal from her shop (so cute, and so fitting!), I also got some pretty notepads which are perfect since I love making lists and journaling. But, she didn't stop there - I also got a gift card to Barnes & Noble (my happy place) and Starbucks (which I like to enjoy while at my happy place). See? Completely spoiled! I love it all so much. Thanks Katie! 

See what all the other mamas got here. And again, a big thanks to Courtney, Jenny, and Liz!