Mommin' It Up!

July 7, 2014July 3, 2014

I Like Big Deals and I Cannot Lie

Hey, look at that pretty badge right there. ^^^^^^^^!! That baby means I get to work with a great brand, Wayfair, that Emily and I were introduced to at Mom 2.0. Basically Wayfair is an awesome online store with EVERYTHING you could ever think of that you might need for your home. And, they have great prices. They are sponsoring this post, but all opinions about their site are my very own.

Since spending money on my home is pretty much the first thing to get cut from the budget, so I love the prices! You’ll find great deals all over the site, but the deals that really get me excited come in Wayfair’s Daily Sales. Every day a new email hits my inbox with great limited-time sales on all kind of categories from bedroom to backyard. It’s very fun (and somewhat dangerous) to look through them each day. Recently when I was on the hunt for some seating for our kids’ basement playroom, the perfect daily sale popped into my inbox. I got these fabulous bean bag chairs for over 70% off – I paid less than $100 for ALL THREE!

SONY DSC — The lighting in my basement is too poor for good pictures, so just pretend my living room is my playroom, mmkay?

These chairs are so comfy, and they actually are a pretty good size for an adult to be comfy in, but great for kids, too! And I LOVE the way the bright colors brighten up my drab old basement.

The big kids love lounging in them while playing Wii U.

And Jonah thinks they are a great place to have a snack.

I love that they have storage on the side, too.

They’re a great addition to our home, I absolutely LOVE them.

Seriously, I took like 85 pictures of the chairs. I am a little obsessed! But of course Wayfair sells more than just bean bag chairs! Here are some of my other favorites from recent daily sales – you know, for my wish list!

This storage bench is gorgeous and only about $150! Seating + storage? Yes, please.

Another item we could really use in our family is this awesome luggage set. They have SO MANY luggage sets at such awesome prices. I will probably never attempt to buy one in a regular store ever again.

I also love that Wayfair has TONS of stuff for kids, from toys to bikes to fun outdoor sand boxes and water tables. I would love to get Jonah this play cottage:

As you can see, there is a huge variety of gorgeous, name brand items for your home on Wayfair.com! To make sure you don’t miss any deals, you can sign up for the daily sales emails right here, right now!

Make sure and sign up so you don’t miss any great deals – especially if you’ve been dying to add some fashionable function to your home.

Thanks Wayfair! I can’t wait to share what’s next from Wayfair.com!

July 2, 2014July 1, 2014

You must be feeling good

Jonah has recently had a language explosion of sorts (better late than never? YES!) and he’s finally starting to, not exactly converse, but at least be more conversational. He will also tell you what he wants. All. Day. Long. We’ve been going to the pool a lot lately (must get our money’s worth!) but today after speech I just needed to stay home, because I’ve been a rather “fun mom” for several days in a row, including taking the big kids to do fun stuff in the morning while Jonah is in summer school. And I just needed to be home to get some crap done, ya know?

So of course, Jonah said, “I wanna go to the pool and go swimming.” and “I gotta go swimming!” and “I gotta go to the pool.” about 679 times this afternoon. He also put his shoes and socks on and said “I wanna go bye bye!” and I said “Where do you want to go?” and he said “I wanna go to the pool!” I promised him we will go tomorrow (unless it rains).

But anyway. Before all this communication about the POOL, we were at speech therapy, and he did a pretty good job cooperating. When we were done, he said to his SLP, “Bye, see you next week!” Then he went to the top of the stairs and said, “I’m going downstairs now, Mom.”

Kristen, his SLP, looked at me and said, “Wow, Jenny. You must be feeling…you must really be feeling good about him!”

And I almost didn’t know what to say back. Because the truth is I have a hard time letting myself feel good and encouraged. I am not sure why, but maybe it’s because I know there is so much work left to do still and I don’t want to allow myself to slack off or let him get off pace. So when she looked at me and said that and I saw on her face such an expression of happiness, I let go a little bit. I let myself feel it. I smiled back and said, “Yes, I am. I am feeling really good.” And I realized it was true.

I am so proud of my boy, proud of what we’ve done together. I can honestly say I wish there was no more work to do, but just seeing him make progress like this lately helps me know that we will get there.

Just now I was letting him watch a Laurie Berkner video on my phone (look, I get desperate around bedtime, ok?) and without prompting or anything, he looked up at me about halfway through and said “I’m watching a video!” Earlier during our “Mommy-Jonah” time that we do at home to work on speech, he volunteered the information, “I’m having fun!” Those are both new things I’ve not heard him say until this week – and it’s awesome!

So yes. I am feeling good about my boy. And I am trying to just really let myself feel it and enjoy it. Progress, we are a-makin’ it! And it. feels. good.

July 1, 2014

Swim Team Win

I’ve written before about our adventures with the kids’ swim team – how Kate’s first year we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, then how we’d grown to love it, and eventually how we’d become a total swim team family.

Today I want to tell you about a swim team moment that will stay in my heart forever.

So, as background, last year Sam was not such a fan of swimming.

Here’s how he spent most of the season.

This year? He loves it. He wants to be at the pool all. the. time.

Last Saturday, Kate and Sam swam in a local invitational (Jenny, “invitational” means there were lots of teams competing against each other). It was an optional meet for our team, and our two were among five kids from the Gators. All season, Sam has been swimming in the “assisted swim” events, which means that he has had a coach-in-training in the pool with him. As the season has progressed, he’s needed less and less assistance and had gotten to the point that the helper really wasn’t even touching him as he swam. None of the coaches-in-training had made it to the invitational, but we were all sure that this time, he could do it on his own.

Before his first event – the 25 meter freestyle – he was pumped and ready to go. Does he not exude confidence?

(Self-appointed) Coach Kate gave him some tips…

And he was off.

He did great. He put his face in the water, he kicked, he did “big arms.”

For the first 30-ish meters.

Then he needed a breather, so he swam over to the lane line to hang on. At that point, the other kids (who all had helpers propelling them forward) were nearly to the end of the pool, and Sam was just a little more than halfway there. He looked around and saw that he was in the middle of the pool all alone, and he flipped out.

He clung to the lane line, looked at me and Andy and screamed “I can’t do it! I can’t do it!”

We both tried to reassure him, while at the same time motioned frantically to Kate to jump in the pool. It was probably 10 seconds, but felt like forever.

She had been standing by at the ready, and when we gave her the high sign she dove in and was by his side within seconds. When she reached him, I heard her say “Hi buddy, need some help?”

With Kate there, Sam decided to give it a go. As he swam – the only kid in the pool – all the parents, coaches, and other swimmers encouraged him. When he finally reached the end of the pool, the entire place broke into cheers and applause.

I was in tears.

Days later, I still can’t talk about it (or, evidently even write about it) without getting choked up.

I don’t know what it was, exactly, that made it such an emotional experience for me. I guess it was just the combination of things – seeing Sam in distress, watching Kate respond so quickly and assuredly, and witnessing so many people – complete strangers – support and hearten my little boy… it about did me in.

It’s something I will never, ever forget.

And when Sam’s backstroke event came around, Kate wasn’t taking any chances. She was right beside him, just in case.

That’s really all I want for them. To know the other is there, just in case.