We made a few extra winter activity kits – available for purchase starting NEXT WEEK! 🥳
These kits reduce the need for a printer – everything you need is included…and reusable!
Customize your crate – every crate comes with enough materials to personalize your experience- or- I am happy to include the child’s name on a project for you if you add it to the notes and details section before final checkout.
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CanyonsCrates on IG
Crates start at $29.99 plus tax – $8.95 shipping
Priority Shipping available to WA, OR, ID.
Penguins or Polar Bears? Jury is still out!Enough fun for two!Look a little closer… 🔍 Do you get snow at your home?
The day started off pretty promising: after regrettably having to skip yesterday’s workout I was a little nervous I was going to feel some backslide in progress (and scared my workout was going to hurt) but it wasn’t the case.
I have been trying to network a little bit more here in the valley and decided to head to Pybus marketplace to share some treats with The Littles.
That is: the one and two year olds.
After somewhat coaxing them to eat last nights dinner of a recent “hit” (a side of fresh blackberries plus tortillas with mozzarella, pepperoni and…ketchup), they’d both woken up starving like they’d not eaten in 46 days.
just why
If you see next weeks Vlog you’ll know that I’m not starving them; we have plenty of marinara sauce, yet they for some reason both think that it’s poison. So…ketchup.
After refusing the eggs I cooked and turning their nose up at the peanut butter toast, I gave in to cereal.
I’m not advocating for being a pushover parent but two days without my wife will do that to me. (I am so much looking forward to her return from overnight work travels this evening!)
Amos if you can read this: I love you!
But I digress as per usual.
For some reason I left the stroller at home thinking they were both old enough to walk 25 feet through the front doors and another 25 feet or so to the front counter and wait in line for about three minutes or so.
It was about as good idea as putting two unleashed rabbits on the floor.
Wild animals, I tell ya! This was before the chaos. More at MommaAMommaB on YouTube
Loud rabbits. Rabbits that wanted to touch the display case even though we talked about looking with our eyes at this EXACT CASE on the car ride and on the walk over to said display case.
As I try to corral them in the same general area, and yell loudly enough for the barista to get my order, also yelling BITE ME because my kid couldn’t make up his mind and that’s the first one I saw.
His increasingly-heavy-in-my-arms sibling was starting to arch her back and do tornado moves and scream. Boy, did she scream, demanding in her 17 month old way to also touch and possibly lick the cookie case.
Bite Me! Cookie
It was the first one that stood out to me, and I’ll admit it felt good to yell it. Only because I did it with a half smile on my face, and the barista smiled back. I think it made her day.
Instagram @cafecolumbiapybus
Or maybe I looked scary (I noticed smeared mascara when we fiiiiinally got back to the van – has it been there??!) and maybe she didn’t smile but grimace.
No, it was a smile. She was friendly. But gosh, I could hardly see anything through my embarrassment – parenting in public is definitely not for the faint of heart.
Menu @ #cafecolumbiapybus
Regardless, instead of me just sitting there like usual being too shy to reach out to people I actually had people offer to help – and struck up quite a few conversations with interesting folks which was the exact reason I went there: I had been hoping to bring my work from home mentality to the public realm, thinking just maybe my kids would sit and be distracted with beautiful cookies while I chatted and it would be chalked up as a business expense.
But, kids are unpredictable- especially young kids! Or maybe I am. I mean, they’re just doing what they do best. I was the foolish one thinking that pre-feeding, pre-watering, pre-entertaining, pre-napping them and bribing them majorly would buy me TEN MINUTES.
Nope!
But you know what? I embrace it. I didn’t have a choice in the moment.
Thank you from the bottom of my soul to whomever made these cookies
I marched those sugar-laden children to the minivan and ate my cold tuna melt in the park. Well, near the park. With the window rolled down. While the kids slept.
My lunch from the park as experienced from inside the mom van
Oh, how I wish to have sat on a sunny bench – but there was no way I was waking up one sleeping soul. And what would I do with them once they were awake? No sunbathing was happening today. Or was it?
Since unattended children in running vehicles is frowned upon, I engaged the parking brake and kept the seatbelt on, then craned my neck until I needed two Tylenol, aiming my gaze out my van window and into the sunshine – and enjoyed the moment. Really. Someday they will be grown and I will look back at this and miss it immensely. Of course I will probably glorify it. And oh the advice I’ll have!
we arrived home and it’s been a nightmare ever since…
…but now my Mom#2 is finally back (!!!) and I can post this and give you all a look at my day as a stay at home mama trying to network and meet new professionals in the valley. Tough and very rewarding!
Thankful for my coworking days at Wenatchee WorkSpace – a time I get to truly maximize my productivity so I can be both “on” as a parent and “on” as a community member. When you start using a coworking space like mine, and begin growing your business…well, it’s hard to go back to the home office! Hats off to those who can pull it off. Mamas everywhere being SuperHuman!
Rainbows at yesterday’s lunch meeting @ #wenatcheeworkspace
Wenatchee WorkSpace is also located half a block from the Apple Capitol Loop Trail – Perfect for days when you need to blow off some steam or get creative energy flowing.
It’s all about work life balance.
Until next time!
Mama B
You may have noticed a lot of my recent posts and YouTube videos have focused on mental health. Even my most positive and chipper friends have thrown an occasional “…gee, February sure is a long month!” For those of us who got through a tough December, February is dragging on and on.
Can it be spring yet?
Or are there changes we can make now to improve productivity?
I’m talking, clear the clutter or rearrange your if need be. Shake things up! Try something new! Modify your routine if it isn’t working for you.
My recent unboxing video featured a slimming new swimsuit. Which is cool.
But it’s January. Some might say too cool for a proper outdoor photo as we end the great hibernation that is Winter 2020.
Enjoy Unboxing Videos? More at MommaAMommaB at YouTube
We usually get significant snow here in Wenatchee, WA. I had planned on doing a fun outdoor show photoshoot, and yet we’ve had unfortunate weather patterns; the sunshine never quite lines up with my three to six hours of childcare per week.
So, I did a quick video and took some shots in front of the closet, instead.
This was my first time ordering a swimsuit online, and I’ll definitely do it again!
B2prity has many options to choose from and I took forever placing my complimentary order. As tempting as it was to go with a fun print, especially since this one was courtesy of the company, I stuck to my roots and went with a solid.
Black is classic, and will pair easily with some of the fun beach accessories I wasn’t able to use last year with my floral patterned suit.
Before tightening support ties
One option to secure straps
amazon.com/shop/mommaamommab
I am excited to test this out in the wild on our next sunny vacation. I was half tempted to recline on my porch with a sangria, until I remembered the kids would be up from nap in ten minutes.
StyleBook touts itself as being an expert wardrobe organization and closet management tool created by a fashion industry insider, who got her start as an intern in the Vogue fashion closet and is an alum of Lucky magazine.
I tried using it for 30 days. You can see the full video soon at MommaAMommaB on YouTube.
Here are some highlights from the first two weeks:
Day 1 – This is the best idea ever. I’m a genius.
Day 4 – So, I guess I have to spend an entire Saturday taking photographs of every single item I own if I REALLY want to use this app as intended. No cheating. Goodie. (This is my first FAIL day. I wore sweats all day to take photos of everything I own, and didn’t backlog my outfit at the end of the night – because that’s cheating. And I’m committed, dammit).
Day 5 – Dang, perfect timing. I totally forgot about period week.
Day 13 – We had a lovely soul offer to babysit for us at the last minute – they were in route to our house just in case we answered the phone.
Amy and I were right in the middle of preparing tacos for family dinner – of course we said YES!
It was Day 13 when I finally hit my groove:
I threw some lipstick and blush in my purse, tidying the house as quickly as possible; serving up my kids’ plates and swooping up those small hot spots of clutter – INSTEAD OF FRANTICALLY FIGURING OUT WHAT TO WEAR!
The fact that I was already basically dressed enough for a casual date to our local market was such a win, I can’t even.
Petite Mama? Try Target’s Athletic clothes…from the kids section. These XL teal pants by all in motion fit LONGER than my usual women’s S/M version – Seven bucks saved! Top is simple and black with velvet collar and sleeve trim
Photo @ Pybus Market in Wenatchee WA
This may not seem like a big deal for most people, but with two toddlers at home and selling two homes and moving across state twice in three years, I have been living in “cleaning” and “work” and “mom” clothes. At many times, the good stuff was “packed” and “not quite unpacked”. Both of which mean in a box but I’m trying to make myself look organized not lazy.
Let’s get one thing straight – we all go through moments in life where we earn our badges, our rights to wear whatever the hell we want to. And I use the term “mom clothes” on purpose.
My intention is to break the norm of what we think about mom clothes. Do you conjure up thoughts of bathrobes and curlers? Accurate. Do you think of the new twin mom in a slinky black dress on a date sans kids, whom are with the nanny after a successful round or three of breastfeeding (don’t worry, she left fresh pressed quinoa juice just in case – and a recording of her voice in a teddy bear that can be warmed in the microwave to match mothers exact body temp. Which is the same as anyone else’s in case you’re wondering…)?
Both images are accurate, and moms are also everywhere in between.
But I digress – I’m starting to feel like a human that is capable of daily showers (if I so choose) and an occasional opportunity to plug in a hot tool or use enough makeup to require a fixing spray. Man, I feel like a woman!
As parents, especially moms, we can often feel like we are under the microscope, expected to stand up to the ideals of the Instagram “norm”. I embraced this time to stay at home and raise my babies, and I was incredibly fortunate to have been able to make that choice. But I’m not going to pretend it was a walk in the park!
By “embracing this time,” I low-key mean “went without harsh baby-damaging hair dyes or nail polishes, the fumes of which could leave my kid with crossed purple eyes and a limp on three sides and a lifetime curse of driving an old Chevy Malibu with a bad fuel pump. Or something.
Basically, sacrificing for the greater good. Drinking all the water, cutting back on pepsi with quad shots. I kid…sort of. I’m an “all-in” kind of gal, which is exactly why I stay away from casinos or anywhere with a mechanical bull and redbull. So to me, sacrificing meant living in pea-stained sweats, scrubbing pee-stained onesies and being okay with that.
And I still am! I loved every second. But now, I realize that my maternity clothes truly don’t fit any longer, which is a sad day. I loved what they symbolized, and that stage of my life. Also, I could eat a second slice without having to undo buttons and ALL dresses had snack holes [pockets]. Winning.
Me trying too hard to match (it looked good on the app!)Shop my INSTA @ brandi_n_hightower
Don’t worry, guys. There’s a version for you, too. My inner wanna-be feminist is wondering “why the dichotomy” – but I’ll admit it’s a nice looking alternative.
I wish there was an option to just buy ONE stylebook and update the layout and user preferences to your liking, but perhaps this is their roadblock to preventing adults from sharing at home. We happen to be a home with two adult women Head Of Households so ideally we’d share a closet. But in real life we don’t, and our styles are similar but different enough. So we didn’t choose to share the Stylebook for Women app across our devices, as Amy chose the Men’s version.
Also, in this day and age, nothing gets under the digital radar! I was contacted within two hours of this post with some helpful advice from Stylebook App itself:
via Instagram
I’ll admit I jumped the gun by not giving a full 30 day try before this post – I would have likely uncovered this feature in the near future. Maybe it was a shameless self plug 🔌 for a future Apple Scripting tutorial. The world may never know.
So, there you have it! Download the version if your preference, know there are options! And set a timer for notifications…
…in-app.
See something in this video you can’t live without? Shop Our Life:
I just spent a week in leggings and I felt fantastic. Do you know why? Because I finally curated my closet and nailed down some key outfits that still felt stylish – sans denim!
Adding accessories or fun tops and different patterns really leveled up my period game this month, let me tell you. As a new Mama, leggings were a gift straight from heaven. The postpartum period is ending but I’m now a leggings convert. Pry them off my cold dead body and all that.
Stay tuned for a future vlog featuring a whole month of what I wore, and how I pulled off my supremely organized closet.
And now, here are some inspirations to help you out in 2020 as you step outside your comfort zone. Maybe you’re a new parent with ‘no time’ for fashion, or someone who was comfortable in a favorite pair of faded jeans, like a warm hug and something familiar to count on.
Enter ATHLEISURE – We can be comfortable and stylish!
Instagram | brandi_n_hightower
Today you’ll be inspired to consider something new. Try on a hat in the store, in front of an actual mirror. Look back through old Pinterest boards or your IRL closet and get rid of what doesn’t feel good – add something bold and make it a challenge to yourself to consider borrowing an item from a friend or wearing a well-loved item in a new way (head wrap vs. scarf, anyone?).
Here are a few fun stylish looks – images are all Pin-able so you can revisit these ideas later if you remember to save to your own boards from here.
Happy Pinning!
Fashionable Pinterest Mamas
Suzanne from My Kind of Sweet presents so many ideas on her site that I could browse forever:
*This blog freely mentions bodily functions, including pee and poop as the title insinuates.
—–
Just like that, we have a potty trained two year old. I am still shaking my head in disbelief (but mostly because it took me so long to update this blog; I wasn’t too surprised my kid picked up the whole potty-in-the-toilet thing).
Since the last update I started boning up on the book “Oh Crap! Potty Training” by Jamie Glowacki and a few light bulbs went off in my head. I think he really is ready to do this. It’s me that’s terrified.
So…we went for it. Long story (really really long story) short, we are officially halfway through our third week and we are in underwear and shorts with minimal accidents, mostly when he is trying to get to the toilet and can’t quite make it but after he is on his way and so far, only at home.
This week he used the toilet at his playgroup twice, and last week he used a few public toilets at the market and gymnastics. I am so proud of him!
Thank you, thank you very much. No, stop, you’re embarrassing me! Ya’ll are too kind.
I couldn’t have done it without the help of SUMMER, MY WIFE, THOMAS THE TRAIN UNDERWEAR and JAMIE.
Seriously. The book was a savior, and the second my wife got home she watched him like a hawk and reminded him and helped when he needed it while I got to focus on other things that needed my attention. Like the infant that I will hardly mention in this post (it’s brother’s turn to shine! But Dakota is great and sweet and pulling herself up to stand using all the things – chairs, brother’s potty chair, my leg…).
We all spent many hours in the first three days hanging outside by the kiddie pool, him buck naked, Dakota and I mostly nekkid. Per the book’s recommendation, we graduated into elastic waisted shorts after the first few days (or ‘block one’), even going commando to the mall which was terrifying for both him and I, but I think we both played it pretty cool.
Skipping the undies helps the brain rewire itself in a way that that snug turd-catching apparatus is gone. Undies or briefs feel like a diaper, plain and simple. For us, I think this was the game changer that facilitated us in helping him ‘catch’ his accidents in the first days: Stop a pee mid-stream, hold it, and finish in the toilet.
Poop has it’s own chapter and can be difficult to deal with. In our case, we had a few days of tummy aches as he held back for a couple days, and a couple incidents where we have made 20 trips to the toilet because “poop is coming” but then he is too anxious to sit and let it happen. We also have had 20 trips to the bathroom for marble turds that also somehow require 100 yards of toilet paper.
I think we’ve turned a corner (which makes me think of a looping intestine. Parenting is so gross, turns out). He’s so amazing and smart and potty training just validates how ready he is. He has been asking to go to school, and so I’ve been experimenting with dropping him off places for a couple hours at time and he is living his best life this summer. So much love for that kid.
Just as I think we’re getting close to sleep training with undies he’s decided to pull a wild card and sleep in front of his bedroom door, despite me moving his bed closer to it, as he likes to peer under the door until he passes out. Happily, though, never making more than a few bangs as he rolls around for a bit trying to get comfortable, a stray foot slamming a wall or the hollow door. Alas, I am going to try to get him back into bed before I risk potty training.
Pee on the sheets, whatever. Potential poop on the carpet I just cannot get behind.
…Then I remind myself that wouldn’t be the first time there’s been something questionable and kid-related on the floor. #momlife
And if you thought the Baby Shark song was bad, it’s creators Pink Fong has found a potty training version.
