I've been a bit obsessed with flowers these days. They are just so darn pretty and the variety in colors never ceases to amaze me. I started my event planning business earlier this year and I wanted to find ways to improve in all aspects of my services, which includes flowers. I took a one to one workshop with Janelle at Lavender's Flowers in Santa Ana. I've been following her on Instagram for a while and I love her style and vision. Thought it'd be best to get a little insight from her with some face to face time.

I don't come from an artistic background. Heck, I'm like on the very opposite side of the spectrum. Majored in Criminal Justice and honestly, I'm the most literal person you'll meet. Working with flowers has definitely taken me outside of my comfort zone. It really requires me to use creative juices I've really never had to use before. Color theory, color palettes, depths, symmetry..etc. But, as I continue to work with flowers, I surprise myself at how much I enjoy it even with all the challenges.

I learned tons from this workshop and got some great advice. One very important thing I did walk away with: take lots of pictures of your work/progress. Documenting is key at improving. Just in the span of 3 months, I can see a lot of change/progress in my work. Pretty kool.

Lake Tahoe 2017

We survived! We took the girls to Lake Tahoe last month. We camped for two nights and lodged for two nights. My last experience camping was when Erin was 11 months and it wasn't all too positive, so naturally I was hesitant to take two toddlers on this week long trip. The girls did great on the drive up. We left at 10:00pm so they slept for most of the 8.5 hour drive. Mad props to Ken for driving the entire time!

Ava is our good sleeper, but only when she's in her own room and by herself. I was most concerned about how she'd sleep, but she actually ended up sleeping pretty decently minus one night. No sleeping issues with Erin. She probably loved that we all were sleeping together (she prefers sleeping with people). The kids played with dirt, sand and water all week, which meant they were pretty much filthy the entire time we were there. That was probably the most challenging part on my end (my inner clean freak was flipping out). They had sap all over them, sand in their hair (and plenty of other places), had black finger nails, and so on. But the girls loved it. Hah. I loved that they wandered off exploring, playing with nature and just spent most of the week outdoors. Oh and the weather was perfect! The lodging portion would've been fine had we not discovered a bat living in our rental. We spent almost 2 hours trying to get rid of the bat. We ended up finding another place to sleep the last night of our trip.

Overall the trip turned out well. We had some days with super cranky, overly tired kids. Plenty of meltdowns and a super clingy Ava, but I could tell the girls enjoyed it, especially Erin. Erin was the perfect age. She had tons of fun running around with the other kids and she even hiked a whole mile on her own! As for me, I'm not a huge beach person, and most of the time there was spent at the beach (which makes sense) but I'd def. want to do some other outdoor activities if we were to go again. Maybe some rock climbing, boating or even mountain biking? I wouldn't object to going back in a few years when Ava is older. This way both girls can join in on the activities and there will be less naps to worry about.

An important tip for a smooth camping experience with toddlers:

1. Bring snacks - lots of them!

I just have the one tip, but it's a very important one! Camping usually means mealtimes will be delayed. I brought 3 big bags full of snacks and the girls finished most of it. Ava is a pretty picky so I knew she wouldn't eat 80% of the food there, so I brought things I knew she'd eat. Her diet that week consisted of yogurt, cheese, fruit, rice and tofu. Erin didn't eat a ton, but at least she's not as picky. Goodness, will my children ever be good eaters?!

A few photos from our trip:

 

Floral Arranging Workshop

I got to take a floral arranging workshop this past weekend. My first time! I've been wanting to take a class for quite a while but all the ones I found were a tad bit pricey. The workshop I took was held at Happily Ever Etched in Buena Park. It's a cute little space and they sell tons of cute stuff. They hold different types of workshops (calligraphy, watercolor, paper flowers) each weekend and for really affordable prices. Sarah from Mulberry and Moss taught the floral arranging workshop. The workshop started off with a 45 minute "teaching" portion and the remainder of the time was left for us to arrange the flowers ourselves. I finally got to use a floral foam brick (I love it!). Floral arranging is a type of art and it was so interesting seeing a personality expressed in each arrangement. I learned tons and definitely want to take another workshop!

Colorado

We took a 4 day family trip to Colorado a few weeks ago. I've never been and since we had a handful of friends over there, we thought it'd be a nice little trip to take.

• They call Denver the mile high city. Did not know that. 
• It often snows in April. Did not know that. 
• It can get very windy. Did not know that. 

I'd like to start off my stating that I did not pack correctly. It snowed about 2 of the 4 days we were there and the wind was insane. Not having packed enough clothes, we couldn't stay outdoors for too long. The kids just stayed covered up in the stroller. But...we did manage to stop by a few key spots:

• Manitou Cliff Dwellings
• Garden of the Gods
• Air Force Academy
• Capital Hill in Downtown

As for food, tons of breakfast/brunch places to choose from, but not so much lunch and/or dinner. We had some decent sushi one night but the highlight of the trip was definitely our morning meals. I highly recommend One Fold (get the Vietnamese iced coffee and breakfast burrito) and Snooze (the Benny Duo and Cinnamon Roll Pancake is a must). Apparently they opened up a Snooze here in orange county. Definitely got to check it out. Oh and ice cream at Sweet Cow is super yummy!

Overall the trip turned out well. It's always hard traveling with young ones. There's the packing of a million things, making sure they're well napped, well fed, well entertained, etc. I often ask myself why we even attempt to travel with the girls when they most likely won't remember any of it. There's also all that extra suffering. But, I see how much joy Erin has whenever we board a plane and how excited she gets when she sees we get to share a bed, it just puts a huge smile on my face. The girl seriously enjoys traveling. We may suffer, but there are tons of benefits to traveling with kids and I think its good for the girls. The trip was harder for little Ava. She did well on the flight to CO considering we dragged her out of bed at 5am. She was a bit cranky each day, but she had fun walking around and exploring. We slept at a different place each night, so sleep was our biggest challenge with her.

Unfortunately, our trip didn't end on the best note. Ava ended up screaming the last 30 minutes of the flight, thrashing around trying to jump out of my arms. We still aren't sure if it had to with the ear pressure from the trip/flight or whether she was just dang tired of being on the plane. We were that family with that kid. Sorry folks of Southwest Flight 700. We owe you.

Current Parenting Challenge: Underweight Child

Here we are again:
Doctor: "Ava is in the 1% for weight".

This is nothing new to us. Erin was underweight most of her life. The first 6 months of life, Erin was hovering around 45%, but then it started decreasing at each checkup and by 2 years she wasn't even on the charts. Looks like Ava might be on the same track. Doctors look at Ken and expect to see big kids, so when they don't, they get somewhat concerned. Erin's doctor suggested we get blood work done but nothing unusually showed up. We just focused on feeding Erin properly. Erin was a very picky eater (to think it couldn't get worse). Trying to feed an underweight picky child = Difficult. With age she became less picky and has now packed on some weight and at age 3 she actually feels heavy! Hooray! Ava is starting to get picky, but she definitely eats a lot more than Erin did at this age. It's amazing how early kids start to develop food preferences. Ava carefully analyzes what's on her plate and picks out the stuff she doesn't want to eat and throws it on the floor. Goodness. Hopefully it won't take Ava too long to pack on some weight.

Grocery shopping for the girls means buying foods that are high-calorie. Since they both can use some extra pounds, we sort of let them eat anything and everything. We try to keep meals as healthy and balanced as possible, but we definitely don't mind letting them put extra butter on something or eat an extra spoon full of ice cream (yes, Ava has tried ice cream already). Feeding your child can be quite stressful. It's a never ending battle, because one week they'll be eating like champs and the next, they'll want to eat nothing but rice. We're just thankful both the girls love milk. I'm sure at one point in the future, they will just suddenly start to eat well and weight won't be an issue anymore. But till then, we shall battle through this "One more bite!" journey.

Oh, and I remember my mom telling me what a picky eater I was when I was little and how I didn't want to eat anything. Apparently all I ate as a kid was rice with soup and I couldn't finish a McDonald's cheeseburger till I was in the 8th grade. haha! Sorry mom! 😁

Some high-calorie foods and meal ideas:

1. Dairy: Whole milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream, creamed soups, pudding
2. Protein: Eggs, peanut butter, bean soups, nuts, hummus
3. Fruits/Veggies: Sweet potato, avocado, dried fruits, bananas, peas
4. Carbohydrates: mac and cheese or any other pastas, french toast/pancakes, mashed potatoes, oatmeal
5. Other: honey, butter, syrup

• Oatmeal with blueberries
• Cottage cheese with strawberry jam
• Banana egg pancakes with nutella
• Toast with cream cheese and whole milk yogurt
• Scrambled eggs with heavy cream and cheese
• Pasta with heavy cream, peas, ground meat and cheese
• Butter on everything
• Cheese slices with pepperoni/deli meat and crackers
• Rice with beans and sweet potato fries 
• Smashed avocados and bananas
• Grilled cheese and smashed avocado sandwich  

My cute picky eaters:

Pumping while Traveling

I took my very first trip away from the kids! Flew out to New Orleans for a weekend. It was only for 3 days, but it was a pretty big deal considering it was my first time away and I was still nursing my 9 month old. Since I was still nursing, I had to pump throughout the trip. I had never done that before. There was so much to consider and think about before leaving for my trip. What to pack? Will the airport allow this? Where will I pump? Is there a fridge? Should I freeze or refrigerate the milk? and so on.

The pump I'm currently using is really compact and it can be battery operated, which is perfect for traveling! You won't always have an outlet to plug into. I use the Lansinoh Signature Pro Double Pump.

Here's what I packed for my trip:

1. Breast pump
2. Large cooler bag (I purchased the black one shown below. Simple, big and inexpensive)
3. Small cooler bag (gel lined) (This small one was to use in case I was out long and needed to pump and store the milk immediately)
4. Ice Packs (3)
5. Milk bags (25)
6. Milk containers (4)
7. Pump/Accessory wipes
8. Bottle soap
9. Ziploc bags (large and small) 
10. Nursing cover
11. Tote bag
12. Extra pump parts
13. Nursing pads 
14. Extra Batteries

Yumbox lunch ideas

Lunch isn't part of the tuition at Erin's preschool. Either you pay $4/day for lunch or you bring your own. $4 sounded like a lot of money so I'm packing Erin's lunch everyday. I researched a lot about which lunch box would be best for Erin. I didn't want anything too bulky or hard to open. It was between the planetbox and the yumbox. In the end, yumbox won. I really like the yumbox. It's super helpful having different compartments that are different sizes.

It's not easy getting her lunches ready each morning. I want to make sure she has plenty to eat, which means each lunch has to be carefully thought out. Gotta try to make it as well balanced as possible, giving her a little bit of everything. Here's a little of what Erin has been eating for lunch.

Grilled cheese, yogurt raisins, teddy grahams, peaches and blueberries, edamame

Pork cutlet with sauce, Hawaiian bread with cheese, mixed veggies, strawberries and blueberries, half of a chocolate chip cookie

Alfredo shell pasta with chicken, crackers with cheese, broccoli and carrots, kiwi and grapes, chocolate covered blueberries

My Favorite Nursing Tops

Finding nursing wear I liked was a challenge when I had Erin. Honestly, nursing wear isn't all that appealing/attractive and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it either. But, when you're exclusively breastfeeding (which can mean anywhere between 8-12 feedings in a day), it really helps to wear attire that accommodates properly.

1. The Naked Nursing Tank. I only discovered this recently (wish I knew about it before). It's pretty genius. When I had Erin, I only wore non-nursing attire so I'd always be flashing my midriff every time I was out breastfeeding. The nursing covers aren't too big so it doesn't cover everything, i.e., your back. I never liked regular nursing tanks because I didn't feel it had enough support. This naked tank top fixed all of that for me. I don't have to spend tons of money on different nursing tops but instead am able to wear all my regular non-nursing attire with my fav/comfy nursing bras. I also don't have the problem of exposing any of my body parts. Seriously, my favorite purchase.

2. Nursing T-shirts. I wanted to invest in nursing specific t-shirts for night time/pajama purposes. I wanted something light, loose and comfortable, but also with easy access. These old navy tops were perfect. They weren't too pricey and they're super comfortable as well.

3. Button down shirts. I have a ton of button down shirts: chambray, plaid, checkered..and so on. It's a staple in my wardrobe and it works out perfectly for nursing purposes. These shirts make nursing easy because you just need to unbutton a few buttons and you're ready to go. No exposing your midriff/back or anything.

Ava and I have our share of difficulties breastfeeding, but we are finally starting to get in a nice rhythm. The difficulties/challenges are different from what I experienced with Erin. Erin had a better latch but was a slow eater and comfort nurser. Sometimes I'd be nursing for hours straight. Ava is much faster, but she takes forever to latch on and things get quite messy. She's still little and my overactive letdown is not any fun for her so she gets quite squirmy while eating. I'm hoping things get easier as she gets bigger. I'm glad I'm getting the opportunity to breastfeed again even though it gets tiring and difficult. Ava is so dependent on me for food, but I love that I get to spend lots of bonding time with my little babe. Oh, and all the constant feedings have brought me back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Score! Here's to another year of wearing a bra 24/7! =)

Erin likes to nurse her bunny too. 

Gift Ideas for 2 Year Olds

Christmas is just around the corner! Some last minute gift ideas for your little one.

1. Puzzles. Erin has been really into puzzles lately. As soon as she turned two, it just started to click and she was able to figure out how to do them. I especially like the puzzles from Petit Collage. Very age appropriate and they've got some really cute designs your kids will love.
2. Books. Erin still loves her books. I love the babylit series by Jennifer Adams. I almost have the entire collection. I just discovered the books by Ashley Evanson, which have a similar concept (early learning concepts with really colorful illustrations), but with a cities theme.
3. Pretend play. Erin loves her babies. Pretend play is important for a child's development and I'm so glad she loves playing with her babies. We thought she'd love a little bed for her baby. She's getting one for Christmas. The Ikea one is simple and very affordable.
4. Cash Register. Erin has been fascinated with our credit cards/money and always wants to hold it and "use" it. I think she's understanding that we use credit cards to purchase things, so I'm sure she'd love a cash register.
5. Building toys. It was really kool watching Erin's lego skills progress. Trial and error. As time went on, she was able to build more complex things. Building toys are great for encouraging your little to think outside the box and build creative things. Legos aren't just for boys!
6. Dolls (Tsum Tsum) What kid doesn't love Frozen? Erin is no exception. She loves all doll-like things in general. I got her her first tsum tsum (mickey mouse) a few months ago. She loved it. So of course, I got her a few more. At one point, every night she'd have to make sure she had each one of them in bed with her. I'm sure she'd be trilled to have a tsum tsum collection of the Frozen characters. She currently has 11.. I think.

Some gifts ideas if you wanted to splurge:

1. Dollhouse
2. Reading Chair
3. Magnetic Tiles
4. Tent/Teepee
5. PlasmaCar

I hope everyone is enjoying their last week of 2015!

A Year of Disneyland

We purchased our annual passes October of last year. We opted for the premium passes (quite expensive), but since we don't live close to Disneyland and would only be able to go on the weekends, we thought this pass would be the most ideal for us (plus we got free parking). The other benefit of having the premium pass was that we got discounts on food and merchandise. Overall, our year at Disneyland was memorable. There were definitely some ups and downs (mostly due to the hot weather and/or a not so pleasant child), but I think I was ready to say goodbye. Here's a little recap.

Erin was about 14 months at her first visit.  She was walking and exploring so we thought she'd really like Disneyland. She was scared of almost everything. She definitely needed time to adjust. I'm sure it was overstimulating/overwhelming for someone her age (she had plenty of nightmares I'm sure). I could tell she was slowly warming up after a handful of visits. She'd walk around on her own, point to things she recognized, but I think overall she was too young. I blame myself. I was so eager to take her to Disneyland because it's so awesome and happy there (this is how I felt before having kids)! I eventually convinced Ken, but it probably would've been wiser and more appropriate for Erin if she was at least two. Lesson learned. I won't be in any hurry to take Ava to Disneyland. Side note: I'd like to mention that Disneyland isn't quite the same when you go with kids, especially kids under the age of three. You are limited to a handful of rides and you're sort of still working around their nap schedules, so it can get quite tiring.

Favorite Foods at Disneyland (not in any particular order):
1. Churro : Probably the yummiest thing at Disneyland. They're $4.25 now though. Crazy.
2. Mint Julep : We only discovered this towards the end. This drink is surprisingly tasty and refreshing! I definitely recommend.
3. Pizza at Village Haus in Fantasyland : Don't know why I like their pizza, but it's my favorite at Disneyland.
4. Dole Whip at Tiki Juice Bar
5. Monte Cristo Sandwich and Garlic Fries at Cafe Orleans : I wouldn't recommend eating the Monte Cristo on your own. It's heavy so its best to share it. The garlic fries are super yummy.

Favorite Attractions (according to Erin):
1. It's a small world : Probably Erin's favorite ride, because there's really nothing scary about it.
2. Little Mermaid : The only ride she'll want to go on at California Adventure.
3. Dumbo
4. King Arthur's Carousel

Attractions Erin did not like at all:
1. Pinocchio's Daring Journey : A lot of the rides at Fantasyland are scary. This one in particular is very scary. Erin did not enjoy it at all.
2. Finding Nemo : She was pretty terrified of this ride.
3. Winnie the Pooh : She wouldn't look at anything while on this ride.
4. Character Meet and Greets : Of course the life size characters scared her. She refused to smile or take pictures with them alone.
5. World of Color : She forced herself to keep her eyes closed during the whole show and eventually fell asleep. hah.

Some tips:
1. No need to get an annual pass till your child is at least 2 (my opinion).
2. No need to get there right when the park opens. The parking lot is the busiest around opening time, so I suggest getting there a few hours after opening to avoid the traffic.
3. Take lots of snacks. Everything is overpriced and surprisingly not that yummy. I brought a lot of snacks for Erin, especially if we were planning to stay all day. Erin isn't the best eater anyway and sometimes there really weren't a lot of options for her, so bringing snacks for her was important.
4. Go to Disneyland without your kid(s). This was something I didn't get to do. I was pregnant for half of the time and couldn't even go on most of the rides. But I really do recommend parents having a "date night" of some sort and going sans kids.
5. Use the baby care centers. Didn't know these things existed, but there's one in each park. They've got changing tables, small toilets and a nursing room. Really convenient and clean.
6. Force your child to nap. We saw a lot of cranky Erin during our Disneyland trips. A lot of the crankiness was due to being tired. When she was still one and I wasn't pregnant, I'd carry her in the Ergo to have her nap. When she got older, we had her lay in her stroller and would just walk around forcing her to sleep and most of the time she did. Nap time means you can't really do anything, but it's nice just sitting around and people watch or if its timed well, you can enjoy a yummy meal while they sleep.

Would I get a Disney annual pass again? Probably not any time soon. Prices have been steadily rising and it just doesn't seem worth it. Maybe after I've had all my kids and they're at least 5 years of age, I'll consider it. But, till then I think I'd be fine with just spending the money on a day pass or just paying more and going to Disneyworld.

Potty Training - Part 1

I have been dreading this moment since becoming a parent. I watched my sisters going through this with their kids and it didn't look/sound all too pleasant (constant wet beds, peeing in the car, poop found on the floor, etc).  Erin turned two about 2 months ago and she was showing most of the signs for readiness. She was going longer periods of time with a dry diaper, she was showing interest in the potty, she has consistent poo poo diaper times, and she would occasionally let us know before going poo poo.

Some things we purchased to prepare for the training:
1. Potty. We bought the babybjorn one.
2. Books. We bought two books about potty training. 1. Potty book and 2. Big Girl Panties book. She really enjoys reading both of them.
3. Underwear. I'd suggest getting some that your kid finds interesting. Nothing expensive or anything. We bought some frozen themed underwear and she gets excited putting them on.

Prepping for the training: I noticed that sometimes Erin would go for quite a while before letting us know she had a poo poo diaper, so that would lead to her having an "owwie" (getting a rash). I thought that that would be a good starting point, a way to sell potty training. My little motto to her was "No diaper, no owwie!". I'd tell Erin to keep repeating it, letting her know that having a dirty diaper will cause an owwie. It was cute because she'd chant the motto with her fist in the air. To further prepare Erin, Ken and I would read the potty books with her explaining that big girls wear underwear and that babies wear diapers, emphasizing that Erin was now a big girl.

First Attempt: The first real attempt at potty training was roughly a month after a second birthday. Being pregnant, I don't have the energy to devote a whole weekend, so I thought I'd start off slow with just a few hours after dinner. I put some underwear on her and left her pants off. I pointed to the potty and told her that she should only go pee and poo in there and not in her underwear. She'd nod yes. I asked her if she had to use the potty every 10 or so minutes. We loaded her up with lots of liquids and was sure she'd have to go pee soon. About an hour into it, no pee or poo. I thought it'd be ok for me to take a little break and shower, so I left Ken to it. After my shower, I asked Ken if Erin had used the potty and he just kind of stared at me. Apparently, shortly after leaving to shower, Erin had peed in her underwear while playing. I tried talking to Erin and asking her about what happened. I told her that she should've used the potty and that she should've told daddy if she had to go pee pee. She just sort of stared at me, not quite understanding it all. No scolding, just gave her a hug. First attempt: Fail.

Second Attempt: I attempted to potty train her again on a Sunday morning. I took her diaper off and put some Olaf underwear on her (kept her pants off). I pulled the potty out and placed it in a very convenient location. I told her that she shouldn't go pee pee or poo poo in her underwear, but should only go in the potty. She'd nod yes. I would say I asked her if she had to go potty every 15 minutes. She didn't go potty once. I gave her plenty of liquids too and it was after breakfast, so I had high hopes. She'd just sit there a few minutes and "pretend" to do something and tell me she was "all done". At one point, I just had her sit there for a while and told her she couldn't leave till she went pee pee. I busted out the m&m's and told her that if mommy sees pee pee in the potty, she'd get an m&m. It didn't work. Unfortunately, we had to leave for church shortly after so we had to stop the training. It was only roughly an hour and a half, but I was exhausted. Hah. It takes a lot of energy to potty train! Second attempt: Fail. 

Third Attempt: We didn't attempt potty training again till after a few weeks. This second time around wasn't an intentionally planned training, but one evening while eating dinner, Erin looked at me and said "poo poo". I immediately asked her if she had to poo and she didn't really respond, but I checked her diaper and there wasn't any poo poo yet, so I put her on the potty. I gave her a toy to keep her busy and told her to just sit there and play with her toy till she went poo poo. It was cute because she listened and didn't really take notice to being on the potty. After about 5 minutes, Erin said she was "all done" and we checked the potty and sure enough, she went poo poo in the potty. Both Ken and I were ecstatic and showed her much praise. We told her how proud we were and how she was a big girl for using the potty. She was definitely pleased and kept telling us she was a big girl. We rewarded her with a few m&ms as well. Third attempt: Success.

I won't gross you guys out with pics of her poop or her on the potty. Here are some pics from afterwards. She had her babies go to the potty and poop, just like she did (she's wearing her awesome climbing shoes).

I've definitely taken a more relaxed approach to potty training. Won't be attempting the hardcore 3-day training approach (I've heard many success stories with this approach though). It has a lot to do with being pregnant and not having the energy and I just don't have the time to dedicate 3 solid days to it (hopefully I can find time to train for at least a full day). I'm not in an extreme rush and I think Erin will respond better to a more gradual approach, just sorta following her cues. But, I've set the goal of having Erin at least day trained before the end of the year. Not sure how many parts of this training there will be, but stay tuned. I'll be posting a Part 2 soon!