Because his birthday just passed and I love him.

Monday was Miles' birthday! But we celebrated Sunday since he was going to have to work on his actual b-day. Our mexican themed celebration consisted of tacos (Miles' favorite food of all time), enchiladas, rice & beans, and of course margaritas! What's a fiesta without a margarita?!?! We did a spin on the traditional margarita and made beergaritas and they were a hit! I made coffee cake in jars for dessert and a fun time was had by all! This past year has really centered around me with the pregnancy and all, and I wanted to make sure Miles had a day devoted completely to him to celebrate just how wonderful he is and to let him know how very much we appreciate him. 

In honor of Miles turning 27, I wanted to make a list of 27 facts you may or may not know about my husband. So let us begin!

1: Miles is a master organizer (As in "Hoarders" the TV show worthy) He has a place for everything, and everything is always in its place. He is the cleanliest man, or person for that matter, I have ever met and I really admire this about him.

2: As organized as he is, he loves trinkets. He has a whole collection of random, unique items he couldn't pass up at the swap meet.

3: He changes his outfit at least 2 plus times in the morning and has more clothes than me.

4: He has a green thumb like nobody's business and he loves plants and gardening.

5: He is obsessed with black socks. Obsessed. He has at least 30 pairs and counting.

6: He's probably the nicest person you've ever met. He'd do anything for anyone and I'm not exaggerating.

7: He's absolutely crazy about our little boy. (I'd like to think I'm a close-runner up, though)

8: He's a constant mover, hence his sign as a Sagittarius. If he's not doing something new, he's miserable.

9: He up and moved to Europe for a year, and traveled all over. His favorite country was Spain. He talks about Barcelona constantly.

10: He hates Thanksgiving stuffing. (I know, I know... it's the best part, right?!)

11: Once he's made up his mind about something, there is no stopping him. He thinks he can do anything, which is why he can.

12: He's an extremely hard worker and always puts in more than what is expected of him.

13: Skateboarding is his passion. He lives, breathes, and loves all things skateboarding. He's on his board every chance he gets. 

14: He tells it like it is. There's never any sugar-coating with this guy. 

15: His mom mails him his favorite brownies all the way from Rhode Island every year on his birthday. And every year he lights up as soon as he sees those foil wrapped chocolate treats.

16: He loves photography. And he's a great photographer. He takes photos of everything, and I love this because we always have so many photos to look back on.

17: He leaves me random love notes to wake up to regularly, and it never gets old. 

18: When he is hungry, you know it.

19: He also has the fastest metabolism ever. I'm jealous. He can eat whatever he wants and somehow he always has a six-pack.

20: He always supports any project I take on. He believes in my work more than I do sometimes. He's my biggest fan.

21: He has one rule, "waste not," and he's true to it.

22: He is an amazing friend. His friends are his family.

23: He has a soft spot for dogs.

24: He's a major coffee drinker. Has to have his cup every morning, but hates the Keurig machines.

25: He was born in Queens New York. 

26: He firmly believes that words are things, and constantly practices the law of attraction.

27: He has a wife who absolutely adores him and was completely taken back when he asked her to marry him. Her jaw is still dropped.

Happy Birthday babe, can't wait to share many many more.
xo.

Mondays call for Comfort

This is one of my all time favorite recipes to make once the weather starts to cool down. What better way to start the week off than with the infamous 'fix-it-and-forget-it' pot roast? Thank the lord, cause I seriously don't want to do anything major on a monday. This particular recipe, I adopted from the food blog The Pioneer Woman. If you click that link, I'm warning you, you are in for a world of extremely delicious comfort food recipes and also maybe a heart attack. or diabetes. or both. 

It's a quick prep and a slow cook, but the best part is you don't have to do any of the cooking! Many people are partial to the crock-pot, but for this one I just stick to a good ol' fashioned conventional oven. The smell alone this dish gives off is a enough of an excuse to make it. Could they just come out with a pot roast candle already??? For a side dish I made sour cream and cheddar mashed potatoes because this recipe excludes potatoes (WTH??? I know) such fascists...Everybody knows a pot roast is simply not a pot roast without spuds!

 

Mini memories

Miles has so many instagram photos from when he lived in Spain. He wanted a way to make them tangible that way he would look at them more often. So he did a little research and made these adorable picture booklets. I love them! Now I want to make a ton of them and scatter them throughout the house! These make great conversation pieces for the coffee table. And what a perfect Christmas gift, right? Miles printed them through prinstagr.am  and they were super affordable. Only 12 bucks for the two books and they each hold 50 photos! Great find my love!

Sleepless Ramblings

Tired doesn't even begin to cover how I feel. I'm exhausted and that whole "sleep when baby sleeps" sounds like a grand idea until you actually try it. Luca will fall asleep for an afternoon nap, and many a time I've tried to drop everything, thinking "this is my chance, I can catch up on some sleep!" and then I lay down, close my eyes and nothing. It's like my body is playing some cruel joke on me. Then other times, I'll look over at my sweet baby boy and he's like this 

feeling at peace and all is still, so I finally begin to drift. but as soon as I close my eyes, about to fall asleep he's like this

Man oh man, and I hear this goes on for 18 years and then some. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

Stocking Stuffer Ideas

I'm sort of contradicting myself when I said a few posts ago that I like to take each holiday as they come, and this is true, but I also like to get my Christmas shopping done early so I can actually enjoy the holiday. There is nothing more chaotic than joining the rest of the world in the christmas shopping rat race where everyone is running around like headless chickens with peppermint lattes in one hand and overloaded visas in the other. And no one is really spreading holiday cheer, but rather grinching about trying to get that front row parking spot or pushing and shoving for the last furby on the shelf or what have you. Talk about a major anxiety attack.

 I'm planning on doing most of my shopping online this year. You can find amazing deals shopping online, not to mention have your order magically appear at your doorstep while you're watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by the fire. What could beat that? Nothing.

There is nothing specific I really want this year. Last year I got my engagement ring, and after you get a gift like that, you really can't try and top it. This year I thought it would be fun to do nick-nacks in the stockings, and save our money to invest into our new home. I'm talking about Miles and I of course, you know Santa's gonna spoil Luca silly. It's Luca's first Christmas. Just the sound of that makes me want to bake some sugar cookies and prop him under the tree for a photo! Anyhow, below are some stocking stuffer ideas for the men and babies in your life. And I'd love to know, what are some of your favorite stocking stuffers?

Oh, and here, you can find some great ideas for wrapping your gifts in brown paper. I love the rustic look of brown wrapping paper. 

photo from Apartment Therapy

1Basic Black Socks socks are on my husband's favorite things of all time list. He goes through socks like crazy and he particularly loves the Nordstrom's black crew socks. So these are a staple in any gift I ever give him.

2 Wall Mount Bottle Opener for the beer lover in your life. I like it because you never have to fiddle around looking for a bottle opener. 

3 Tiger Balm  this is like crack for your sore muscles. It burns so good! My hubby would bathe in this stuff if he could. 

4 Drip Pot Coffee Maker this is cool for when you wanna make a small batch of coffee and you don't own a keurig. Miles is anti-keurig for whatever reason so I don't see us getting one anytime soon. But isn't it beautiful? How great would this kraft look on the table?! Ok so maybe it's more for me than him...but hey we both win!

5 Pocket Knife these come in handy more often than not. And you'll definitely be happy your husband has one when a packages comes in the mail. Why do they wrap those things like Chinese finger traps?

6 Spoon Garden Markers I have a black thumb so I'm thankful my husband's is green. These are great for differentiating your herbs, and add a touch of decor to your garden. 

7 Life Factory Water Bottle both my husband and I have and love these bottles. They keep you drinking water, come in tons of colors, and are Eco-friendly. One tip, order the new straw cap. It's wayyy better than the standard screw cap.

1 Sophie the Giraffe Teether this seems to be every baby's favorite teether these days. Luca has the mini vanilla version with grip handles, and I love that it's non-toxic.

2 Raz-berry silicone teether what a cute idea. My cousin's daughter has this and she loved it when she was pre-teething which is the stage Luca is at now. The kid could fill a swimming pool with all that drool. 

3 Boon Squirt Spoon very soon we'll have a baby who doesn't just drink bottles, and I've heard rave reviews on these spoons.

4 3 Sprouts Bath Toy Organizer because Luca's bath appliqués are all over the place.

5 B. Fun Keys I love the B. Brand toys, and I'm sure these keys will be no exception. These are for Luca, but they are also partly for me. I need to sign up for baby toys anonymous ASAP. Hi, I'm Chelsie and I'm a baby toy addict.

6 Oval Xylophone just like the one we all had as kids. They make a janky looking plastic one now, but the wood one is so much more classic. And the pretty gentle sounds the xylophone makes make this a sound bearable instrument for all the parents out there with tone deaf babies.

7 Ba Baby Bottle Holder I stumbled upon this randomly and may even buy it for Luca before Christmas gets here. He's so close to holding his own bottle but it's just a tad heavy for him. But let me tell you, he has grip like a gorilla. My poor post-partum head of hair knows.

Well there you have it. This is how we stuff stockings in the Wood household. Hope you enjoyed and got some good ideas! Happy Holidays!

Movin' on Up!

Well, here it is, our very first "Home!" Sorry the picture quality is so horrible, I grabbed it off zillow because I don't have any photos of my own yet [the tenants are still occupying the place.]  Miles and I drove by and stalked the property recently, but then someone looked out the blinds and totally caught us lurking! So we bounced in a hurry and didn't get any good pictures. I will say it definitely needs some work, and lots and lots of paint, but Miles and I are up for the project! We wanted a place we could really customize to be our own. And low and behold, here she is! I can't wait to share with you all the ideas I have in store! I get giddy every time I think about it!

I always joke with Miles about the Drake song "Started at the bottom" and say Luca's version is going to go something like "Started at the top, now I'm here, started ocean front, now my whole fam moved me here" haha. Poor baby started his life on some ocean front property, and now he must move inland. But there are tons of perks to our move, so I know he'll be just fine.

Well I'm off to put the little one down for a nap, and possibly take one of my own. By the way, Luca slept entirely through the night last night! Keeping my fingers crossed that he's back on track with his schedule. 

Thank you so much for all your kind words the other day, they made me feel so much better. The best thing about motherhood is that I'm in great company with all of you! So really, thank you for all the advice and comforting notes, they reminded me why I'm so thankful for the family and friends I've been given. It takes a village to raise a child, and it comforts me to know that we're all in this together! I can't believe it's already Thursday... This daylight savings thing has got me all thrown around and in a daze, but if tomorrow is friday, who cares, right?!

Fall-la-la-la-la

Now that Halloween has ended, we can officially move forward towards my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving! This year I have so much to be thankful for, and it is hard to believe that this time last year I was just finding out that I was pregnant with Luca! My how time flies. Here are a few of my favorite things to bring fall into full swing. I don't like to rush the Holidays, I like taking them one at a time, but I will say, I will officially be enjoying Christmas music from here on out. The day after Thanksgiving until the 25th of December is simply not enough time to fully enjoy all the amazing Christmas jingles. On that note, I'll end by saying, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" and I hope you are enjoying it as much as me!

Dot Jersey Pants | Marled Socks | Pink Frosted Animal Cracker Shower Gel

Kiss Me Exfoliating Lip Scrub | Essie "Carry On" | Yankee Candle Hazelnut Coffee

You're gonna miss this.

We were on a roll. I had the best behaved baby of all time until...

Luca decided sleeping through the night wasn't for him anymore.

He wakes up at least twice in the middle of the night where I find myself begging for him to self-soothe. Miles and I are losing our minds. We're walking zombies for the actual duration of time we can keep our eyes open during the day. It's too bad I'm not currently drinking caffeine because I am in desperate, desolate need for some energy. ay ay ay.

I'm hoping this is some sort of growth spurt or time change/weather fluctuation issue we can resolve very soon. So I pray.

 Ever since he was born, Luca has always surpassed the "standard" feeding measurements. When they said he should be taking in 2-3 oz he was gulping down 4-5 oz, and now this kid takes down 9oz bottles every 3 hours like it's no ones business. We even started adding rice cereal to his bottle to give him a little more substance, but it seems now he's more ravenous than ever.

If you have ANY suggestions, please do comment and share. Something has gotta give.

I'm so tired that even when I do fall into shitty 1/2 hour intervals of sleep throughout the night I have crazy dreams that have my heart racing a hundred miles an hour. Just last night I dreamt that I had actually been pregnant with twins when I was pregnant with Luca and somehow they forgot to deliver the second baby. So I went into labor out of the blue (just what you want to re-live right??) and even more tragic, I got a shotty epidural that did absolutely nothing and I was gonna have to deliver this 3 month past due baby all natural. I was crying in my sleep, and all I kept thinking was how I was going to have two babies to be up all night with. What a nightmare. 

This morning I was on the phone with the nurse seeing what more I could do. She sadly told me that some baby's don't really get a good "sleeping though the night" habit going until six months. As I took in this devastating news, my phone dies. I finally get reconnected, and by now Luca is tired and fussing on my hip while I'm holding the phone with my shoulder trying to lean in to where my cell phone is connected to the ridiculously short charging cord while at the same time trying to hold Luca's paci in his mouth with my other hand. As I'm finally getting some concrete advice as to things I can try with his feeding schedule, Luca spits up all down my shirt. I can feel the warm curdled milk slowly dripping down to my pant line, and just as I think things can't get any more hectic, the doorbell rings. I quickly cut the call short, and realize it's my boss at the door. I forgot he told me he'd be coming to pick up some paperwork. I'm covered in throw up, Luca is screaming in my ear, and I'm trying to hold back the enormous flood of tears about to stream down my cheeks. I answer the door, apologize for looking like a train-wreck, and handle my business. Once he leaves, Luca and I cry our eyes out together for a good five minutes. Luca falls asleep, of course he is exhausted from being up all night long. And the only word that comes to mind in that moment is 'overwhelming.' Motherhood can be completely overwhelming sometimes, and no one ever tells you that. Well I'll tell you, sometimes you feel like you're going to go insane. It helps to have a good cry every once in a while,  I always feel better after I do, and as crazy and unpredictable as all of this feels at times, just remind yourself "you wanted this," and think things like "you'll be begging for puke when he turns sixteen."

 Everyone has told me, this too will pass, and as they grow they give more and more back than you ever thought humanly possible. And so it goes. Already I've been given so much back. The pure love they give you is more than enough. And I know it goes by fast. This chaotic time is merely a speed bump in the big scheme of things. Already Luca has grown so much from when we first brought him home. He has hit more than a handful of milestones, and we keep trekking on. 

So when the going gets a little rough and the waters are a bit choppy, I just quote Trace Adkins. "You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good times, so take a good look around, you may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this."

Announcements

 A while back, shortly after Luca was born, we had to last-minute evacuate our old home due to a potential mold infestation. It was a really old home, and our landlord was awful about upkeep and maintenance regarding the property. We later found out that a manhole had flooded the place shortly before we moved in and they never even disclosed this information to us prior to our move in. As much as I loved that home, it had its issues as you can see from this post. After a ton of legal research and many many phone calls later, we decided to leave one month prior to our lease ending.

 It was bittersweet for me. I knew Gardena was a transitional home--a place marker, while we built up our funds, I knew the baby would need space (our old place was a shoebox), and I knew we were outgrowing our home even when it was just Miles and I, but I had such an emotional attachment to our beach bungalow. A lot happened in the short year we lived there, so many memories were formed in those small quarters, and I didn't get a proper goodbye. One moment it was our home, and the next we were told to leave asap, and not to re-enter due to spore exposure hazards. Miles packed up the place in three days, put everything in storage, and we turned in the keys. With absolutely no place to go, my wonderful grandmother offered her Mission Bay vacation home to us until we could find a new place. We currently reside in a beautiful home that sits right on the bay and I can't complain one bit. What I will say though, is I am more than ready to have our own home again. Our little nomadic family is ready to settle down.

Miles travels a lot with his job, and so we recently decided to make the leap and move somewhere more central to where he'd be headed, and somewhere closer to my family so I'd have help while he's away. With that being said, I am happy and excited to announce that we are moving to Riverside! I'm headed back to my hometown, my roots, the motherland. We plan to move back to San Diego when Luca starts school, but in the mean time we will have our own home for the first time ever! A home that doesn't have adjoining walls to neighbors, doesn't reside in a 'complex', and has rooms (plural!),  and a real yard! The closest we've come to having a yard in the past was a planter box. We'll be moving into our new house in January, so for a short time longer we will enjoy our ocean view, the smells of the sea, and all of the things we so love about living in San Diego. 

Happy Monday!

November, we have arrived

So you are probably wondering, where the heck is Luca in his halloween apparel?! Yeah...remember this post where I said he'd have a "day" and "night" costume? Time slipped through my fingers and he ended up with only one costume. I got way too ahead of myself coming up with all these creative, unique ideas, and then totally blew it. I always forget to under promise, and over deliver, rather than vice-versa. Well anyways here's the short of it. Luca was supposed to be Walter White (shout out to all "Breaking Bad" fans!). I first got the idea because I had this sudden realization that my husband scarily resembles Jesse Pinkman as you can see here:

and then I came across this ridiculously cute photo on instagram, and had this grand idea for Miles and Luca to coordinate costumes and replicate it.

Can we all just take a moment to grieve how adorable it would have been?? *sigh*

And then Halloween was upon us...As I scrambled to think about how we could pull this off, I had an epiphany. I realized I wasn't super mom, Luca didn't neeeed two costumes, and I remembered Halloween would come again next year. 

Then this smiling dinosaur appeared and all my feelings of guilt disappeared.

Our Halloween was mellow. My sister and her boyfriend came over and we ordered in sushi. We didn't get any trick or treaters, and my grand plan to have halloween be this huge extravaganza fell far short of what I had in mind, but our night ended up being better than anything I could have stressed over planning. I didn't have to worry about hors d'oeuvres being elegantly plated, oven timers buzzing, or even dishes. I was able to enjoy everyones company and take in all the chunky cuteness of my baby dinosaur. 

The boys drank beer, my sister and I giggled over and over about this youtube video of a baby's emotional reaction to his mother singing, and we all had a grand ol' time. We tried to find "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!" to watch on TV but shockingly, no one was playing it. Luca then proceeded to scream his dino head off for his eleven o'clock feeding. After about 10 minutes of listening to his ongoing ferocious roar while I fixed his bottle, we all decided it was time to call it a night. Even parents of dinosaurs have bedtimes you know...

Hope you all had a spectacular Halloween, and I hope you hit the jackpot in candy.