Nordstrom Anniversary Sale- Toddler Girls

Never too early to start shopping for back to school! Crazy to think about school starting but my daughter is soooo ready to go back, like I am too boring or something! Haha I think this sale is the best time to scoop up shoes and jeans for Fall! I have linked a few of my favorite pieces and several of them are already on their way to my house!

Scroll through the bar and click the image to shop!! XO

2 Words...Potty Training.

Where do I even start with this topic? Maybe how I got this brilliant idea to start it? Well, I am ashamed to tell you that it all began because I did not want to be THAT Mom who was the last to potty train their child. No seriously. Potty training is really all about me ya know. But really though. Before we started the potty thing, she would tell me at Target wearing her diapers that she had to potty and I would tell her that we didn't have time, just go in your diaper. I know, Mom of the year right here. Also I am the one who would be doing 99% of the training and that alone is super scary and overwhelming so who wants to do that?? I came up with so many excuses as to when we would start and why she wasn't ready but the only problem was me. We are in gymnastics class with several kids around the same age as Rowan and I noticed a little girl not much older than her come in with undies on. So I began to fish around about how old was the child, how did they do, and was it as awful as everyone says. I really asked every single parent I ran into from then on. You could call me the potty investigator. Haha. Then one day a little boy came into class and his mother mentioned that they were "commando" and potty training. So now and BOY and a GIRL were trained before my child? How can this be? I asked her how she started and she said that she was reading the "Oh, Crap" book and it was working. I immediately went home and Googled it, bought it for my iPad and told myself I am going to start potty training....soon. That was Wednesday. I look at my calendar and start to pick out dates to start....and I can't find a single date that gives me 3 days at home. Crazy huh? I am a stay at home mom and I can't find 3 days at home. Weird. I mean trips to Target count right? If you know me, shhh MOM don't say anything, you can't tell me nothing. I can do it and I will do it, my own way and I will make a way.

So Friday comes along and after sitting down to read "Oh, Crap" I figured now is the best time, even though we are leaving for Minnesota the following weekend, she will already be trained by then right? Pants came off Friday at 3pm. Literally. As I  start to read it, I feel like this is just a guide and so I start to skim further into the book to find what I really need to know since I clearly know everything already. Haha. For the first few times at the potty, she did great! She peed like a champ! I couldn't believe it! And I kept thinking, well we are done right? That was easy. Not so fast. We got the pee part down but what about the poop? I kept her in dresses with no undies on because I am not going to look like a "bad mom" and let my child run around naked outside. Remember this is all about me :) No poop on Day 1, surely it would be coming on Day #2. Yep, it came alright. Outside by her swing set in the grass and she was so proud! Ok, at least it was outside so it was easy clean up. Thanks kid. If that was the worst thing, we are still surviving pretty well. Day #3. Because I know everything and do not follow advice until I am desperate, I never stayed home with her to train her because who has time for that? I was anxious as heck and I now know where every bathroom is in every place I go! Off to Nana's she went. This mama needed a break and Nana was also graced with a turd outside too :) Haha. The dogs have taught her well. Day #4, me alone with her again while daddy worked. She was awake for a hot minute until I smelled poop. This time it was not so convenient. Caught up in her skin tight jammie's....into the tub she went. 8:00 am, and outfit change #1 not sure why but I decided to put shorts on her with no undies today instead of a dress, but I did. Maybe because I assumed she had this pee thing down. I Let her play outside for a minute and saw a small puddle of water on my deck? Hmmm Rowan what is that? I peed. Seriously? Yep, so back inside for pants change #2. Go back to what I am doing and come back outside to another small puddle next to the first one....ummm what is that? Did the dog mark her territory and pee too? Nope. Outfit change #3. Oh man, it is only 8:30 am and I am loosing this battle hard! It is not even 9am and I want to hit up a patio for a glass of wine!! So sheepishly I pulled out that book that I thought I didn't need and skimmed right for the get my child to poop chapter and why all of a sudden is she regressing!!! HELP ME!! After the book calmed me down, I put her back into a dress without undies. I felt a sense of defeat. I finally broke down and made a stupid sticker chart that everyone said to do while thinking this is a waste of time and not worth it but let me tell you, she loves to put that sticker up like "look at me". We were fighting for the control and she was winning and she knew it. We had no problems the rest of the day but we can not get this poop thing down.

Sooooo what do Mom's do when we want our kids to do something?? We bribe them, well at least I do :) Since the whole "let your poop go swimming" thing wasn't working and I thought I better find another term since it was the start of pool season and I do NOT want to be the one that makes everyone clear the pool due to a floating turd. The sticker chart wasn't working for poop, I had to think of something she really wanted. Oh, I know. A crab. Yes, you heard me right. My 2.5 year old wants a hermit crab thanks to the mall kiosk where she has to hold one every single time we go. BINGO! "Ok Rowan, you poop in the potty and we will go to the mall and you can get a hermit crab and bring it home." Literally the next morning, she pooped on the potty before gymnastics and immediately said, "let's go get the crab." Oh crap. She remembered. A deal is a deal.

We are now the proud owners of Daisy the hermit crab and also I am a sucker because she still won't poop in the toilet. It is either in her pants or outside. WHY WHY WHY! I am a pretty open person when it comes to talking about bathroom habits and I can't imagine her feeling embarrassed about it. I even make up stupid songs like "poo poo in the potty" and sing them to her! LOL

As for that Minnesota trip, it was a 36 hour weekend for a wedding that Rowan was the flower girl for! Imagine my terror when I realized we had to drive 4 hours with her and I had to let her walk down the isle with no underwear on....I really really contemplated putting a diaper back on her for that 30 minutes. But I didn't. We took the potty in the car and let her use it when she had to go, which was twice. I put a puppy training pad on her car seat to catch any accidents that may occur. Best idea ever, even though we didn't need it :) We only had 1 poo accident and 1 potty incident. Not too shabby for all of that travel and craziness! She walked down the isle like a pro and we have decided that she makes such a cute flower girl, we will now be renting her out for weddings :)

Well we are on day 14 and we are still working on it. We have the pee down, it's the crap I can't handle. Time to pick up the book again as now I see where the title came from. Very clever. As for the bribe, well Daisy the hermit crab was eaten by our Goldendoodle :( I am currently working on my next bribe! I just keep telling myself, it will happen, she will do it....and I am still waiting.

All I know is that I have some great photos and stories to tell her when she is older about how potty training went and what is better that making memories and remembering how we all survived! Again, people with more that 1 child....you are seriously all saints!

Cheers! Yes I will be having a glass of wine :)

Is this Really my Life?

Hello. It's me. I was wondering...sorry I had too! I swear I hear that song every time I say hello! Thanks Adele. Well it has been a long time since I have taken the time to actually sit down and blog. Life is just busy, but I like it. My little Stella & Dot business is doing well and I am setting goals that I am crushing. I love fashion and jewelry so it is such a great way for me to escape the "mom brain" that I had fallen in to. I am so grateful to my loyal customers and new ones too! I now have something else to talk about other than what my child ate for breakfast and how many times she has pooped in a day. Tell me I am not the only one with this syndrome please? Sometimes doing something little for yourslelf can have the greatest impact on you and the others around you. My favorite quote from the creator of Stella & Dot is posted in the the image below. Since it has been awhile, I have a lot to share with you. Well I am now the Mom to a 2 year old sweet baby girl with a personality bigger than this world, and I love it! She keeps me on my toes and tests my patience and ability as a Mom daily. I would not say she is in the terrible twos....I would more like classify as it the "Is this Really my life" stage? Or "did that really just happen" stage. I mean seriously, I can't even make this stuff up it is so good! Well sit back, relax, and enjoy this 3 ring circus I call life.

 First off, we got a new puppy. He is a male Goldendoodle, standard size because mini wasn't big enough I guess? We (well I did) thought it would be a great idea for Rowan to have a dog she could rough house with and grow up with because our 4lb Maltese wants nothing to do with her unless she is giving out food. Ummm that was a brilliant idea on my part. Did I forget what it was like to have a new puppy? All I ever wanted was another toddler to join me daily (said no mom ever), Louie is seriously the cutest and sweetest man, which is how we get through some days. Just like what I tell Rowan on days she is extra spicy....."You are lucky you are cute." Not only does he pee a river when he has an accident, his poop is 5X the size of normal poo leaving land mines in our yard, and he chews every toy my super tidy toddler leaves around. It is chaos around here most days now. I routinely find the dog eating food out of my toddlers mouth per her request because she thinks it is hilarious! Oh real funny. But they are the best of buds and seeing them play and him lay next to her when she is sick is the sweetest thing ever. We really do love him!

If being naked is a 2 year old phase I am so ready for it to be over! I swear everything bugs her!! If there is a tag in site, not even touching her, it needs to be cut out immediately or a meltdown occurs. Socks are like the devil to her and if they touch her feet she may breakdown, or the line in the sock is touching her toes wrong. Thank God for Uggs. I would pay double the price right now for them over dealing with the sock issue. Oh and she has mastered the whole part of taking off not just socks but everything including the diaper :/ I will be running around rushing to get somewhere on time (which I am never late) and picking up articles of clothing throughout the house to dress my child for the 3rd time that morning. I LOVE the inventor of the onsie that snaps :) It's is like a nice version of the straight jacket for toddlers and I am going to be so lost when she outgrows the 24month size :(

So a few weeks ago I was getting ready for the day in my bathroom and Rowan was playing in the basement with her toys. She yells upstairs "mom" to find me and then comes upstairs to hunt me down, like always. She walks into the bathroom but I did not look down at her and when I finally did she was naked....go figure. We have been working on trying to potty train, just introducing her to the idea. I am really not looking forward to it because I dread the days where we are in the middle of a store and IT happens, or the emergency car stops. Ugh. So I proceeded to ask her why she is naked. She says "I poop", which means to me maybe she wants to sit on the potty. I put her up on the toilet and she says "no I pee". I encouraged her to go, then bribed her, which works with pretty much anything! Parenting fail in every book, but a parenting win in mine :) Well no potty came out and I was ready to run errands, but had to run around the house and picking up her outfit to dress her. Finally I reached the basement where I found her pants and diaper on top of our entertainment center underneath the TV. Now how and why are they there?? So I walk up only to find, 2 giant turds on the top of the table. She peeks out from behind the door and said "see I poop." Yep. I see that. Are you kidding me? Is this really happening right now? Of course I can't say anything or get upset because I do not want her to be scared to take her pants down and potty but for the love of God!!! I think to myself, it could've been worse! Rowan=1 Mom=0 And no....I never found the pee. If you are my friend on Facebook (lucky you :) ) haha you get to see a lot of jewelry! If you don't like it, or the photos I post on Instagram of my outfits and jewelry, there is a little button that says unfollow or unfriend :) It really is simple. I get paid to wear great jewelry, help others accessorize and I make more money than working PRN or part time as a nurse. Crazy huh? Also you get to see a little tid bit of my sweet life. I shared this with friends but have to share it with you since it was too darn funny. I seriously laugh still laugh about it. I feel like I am forcefeeding my daughter daily and I swear if I did not make her eat, she wouldn't. So I bought Grape Nuts because they are healthy, and I like them. I made her a small bowl of cereal and put a touch of brown sugar on top to entice her more to eat it. I fed her the first bite, she looked at me with such haste and disgust and stated "This is disgusting. This is dog food." She took the bite out of her mouth and marched herself over to the dog bowl and put it in there for them. The dogs loved it! Haha Never a dull moment.

Last weekend we changed her baby bed into the toddler version of it because she just hops the rails and gets out as she pleases. I thought it would be easier than that. Emotional mess would be a good word to describe my state of being. Never will I ever have a baby again, never again will I reach over the rails that once kept her in and safe and pull out her sweet smiling face. Now I get to snuggle right on in beside her, only for her to tell me "get out of my bed." Haha She loves her bed that much! She only wants to cuddle for a hot minute then she wants to sleep. So sleep deprived moms all over the world, next time you go in for the 3rd feeding of the night with 1 eye open and you see that smiling baby, reach down and know that soon enough it will be all over and that phase will be a distant memory. Love and live in the moment please.

Lastly, I swear she thinks she is Van Gogh. She color and marks up everything!!! No matter how many times I tell her to only color on paper and I tell her NO 5 thousand times, she still can not manage to listen. As I am cleaning off the dining room table where I have stupidly put her crayons and papers, I find my light tan microfiber dining chair colored on with crayon....black crayon, oh and yellow highlighter. A few deep breaths later and a super fast Google search of "how to clean crayon off of microfiber" my chair looks brand new. That is when I know God is working in me and helping me with my patience, I calmly cleaned up the mess and moved the crayons to a secret location far above her reach and went about our day. Mom life right here folks and for all of you out there right now Googling the same thing....rubbing alcohol and a clean magic eraser. BRAND NEW. You're Welcome.

All of these moments somehow are seriously funny after the fact, maybe because the clean up so far has been pretty painless. But she knows how to work me over with a few sweet words "you da best ever". My heart melts and I remember why I love being her mommy. But I promise you I ask myself daily "Is this really happening? Is this really my life?" And I am sure glad it is.

Cheers!

If you love fashion & jewelry follow me on instagram at Ashleyn2504! If you love it so much, want to get paid too? , let's chat!! XO

Ashley DeJong