Life with Kids : Friday Favorites - the middle of February (minimalism, snow, and Valentines)

I have to admit that my heart sank just a little bit when I wrote the title of this post...how are we already halfway through February? Life and time is passing by so quickly. This past week has been pretty much a blur with all the snow we've had...so lets get onto some favorites!

ONE

While some people might go stir crazy, this little homebody right here loved that we were snowed in for 5 days! I loved that we got to be lazy, watch tv, and didn't have to be rushed to get ready and go out somewhere. I also really loved having Thomas around to be my reinforcement, especially since Séamus was under the weather. Watching the girls enjoy the snow was seriously the best...although I only made it outside for a few minutes. Looks like I might need to invest in some snow pants for future snow.

TWO

Y'all I have been on a Minimalist kick since I was pregnant with Séamus and I'm not stopping any time soon. I have gone down the rabbit hole of Podcasts and I just have to share these two with you. I'll admit I am super late to the podcast game but I am loving it so very much. Both of these podcasts I've gone and started from the beginning and am bingeing them. They are both so good and full of some great tips, insights, and ideas that I just cannot get enough of them...I'll be so sad when I'm all caught up!!

The Practical Minimalists

The Minimalist Moms

THREE

We had temperatures in the single digits!! Practically unheard of in the greater Seattle area, so we made sure to build a few fires in our fireplace. The girls were ob-sessed with it and ran to get marshmallows each time. Ellie loves toasted marshmallows while Finnley just thinks its fun but won't eat them. Séamus was quite mesmerized by the fires as well and now that we know how to build them in our fireplace (who knew there were proper ways to build and place a fire in the fireplace??) They were so much more successful than they've ever been. Last year I had a Chimney Sweep come and he gave me a tutorial on how to build a fire in our fireplace so that we don't smoke up our house...like we had been for the past 8 years 😳. So now that we know better our fires flamed higher and longer and our house was smoke free...well as much as a fire can be 😉.

FOUR

My sweet little Valentines!! Oh how I have dreamed for children and making holiday's special. I'll admit...that didn't happen this year for Valentines Day, I didn't even do any decorating in the house for it!!! I can't believe it. Not a chalkboard design or a heart in sight! We even forgot about Valentines for the girls classes 😱, thankfully Thomas came up with something late Wednesday night and got to cutting out hearts for Ellie to sign, I followed suit and cut out hearts for Finnley to color for her class. Regardless, the girls had a spectacular time at school celebrating with their friends and I managed to actually get a photo of all three of them when we got home from school pick up! Before I forget!! Finnley woke up crying at 4am so I brought her into bed with us and about 5 minutes later Ellie started calling out for us. So I went and got her and brought her into bed as well. The four of us enjoyed sleeping in our roomy bed until Séamus decided to crash the party at 4:45am!! So somehow all five of us managed to fit in our bed and sleep until 6:30!! If that was ever going to happen...Valentines Day morning is the day!! Even though we didn't do much for Valentines it was still a sweet time to give some extra lovin's to the babes.

we love LOVE!!

FIVE

Since we were snowed in, I've been living in some of my favorites that I wanted to share with you. These house slippers are my favorite, I have two pairs (not very minimalist of me...). I am in love with these joggers, I have them in green and black. I wore them for most of my pregnancy, they were perfect for postpartum recovery and now they are the easiest things to throw on. My favorite thing about them...pockets!! I totally underestimated the goodness that is a Nursing Tank. Now that I know, I am on the lookout for some nice ones that don't break the bank. These ones look great, as do these, and this one is super cute!

SIX

Speaking of Minimalism...that is like my life's mantra right now, I went ahead and Marie Kondo'd my clothes. Apparently your clothing is the best and easiest place to start. I put all of my clothes on my bed, thanked (and hugged) each of the pieces I decided to let go, folded up my little tents and put them in my drawers and then hung up the rest. Even though I reduced by 60% I still feel like I have a lot of clothes in my closet. I did keep a few things that I don't currently wear #breastfeeding but hope to wear again when my boobs are no longer being used multiple times a day. It's quite refreshing to look into our closet now and not be so overwhelmed...I just have to bag up all the clothes and actually donate them instead of leaving the gigantic pile on my bedroom floor....