In other news...

Where does the time go?! Seriously... I'm starting to get a little anxious about the small amount of time that we have left until our little family of 3 becomes a family of FOUR. I suppose to start with, I owe you this little update:

That's right folks! Apparently we breed boys over here at Diapers & Divas. A funny thing happens when your second kid is on the way... You don't do much to prepare. I've done some random things around the house like go through our stock of baby clothes to see what we might need:

My the looks of it, we aren't hurting for clothes for our newest little guy. This is all just for newborn to 9 months. But I organized it all nicely into space bags, the ones where you suck the air out with a vacuum, so that I can just grab the bag with the clothes we'll need for that stage. When he's starting to grow out of that stash, it's time to grab the next back, throw it in the washer, and bam! we are good to go!

I also came across a few new things, or new-to-us things, after having loaned out Will's baby clothes to a friend or two. I got our clothes back, and then some! What a nice surprise! A couple of my favorites:

A little velour Paul Frank sweat suit?! Are you kidding me?! And check out the little monkey ears on the hood. I die. It's just so cute.
And a little old man cardigan! There really is nothing cuter than a little dude rockin' an old man sweater and some dark jeans, and maybe a pair of chucks.

Will was eager to help me that afternoon, so I put him to work:

The kid loves to use the vacuum wand. So instead of him running away with the attachments and using them like they're swords, how about we do something a little more productive... ;) He's a pro. He's definitely going to make a great big brother.

There are a few other things on our To Do list to prep for this little dude's arrival, like:

• Re-organize Will's closet. I'm thinking something along the lines of what Jen over at I Heart Organizing did for her boys:

And another great inspiration pic by another blogger:

• Our Master Bedroom will be getting a little makeover, too. Wittle Bird will be bunking in our room for a while so as to hopefully not totally turn Will's life completely upside down all at once. The first step in taking care of that is that all of this has to go:

Scary, right? The desk is going into storage, the shelves on the wall are coming down (maybe re-purposed in the closet re-do you saw above), and the bags in the corner need to go to Goodwill. Our dresser and TV will be going into this lovely little niche. Wittle Bird's crib and changing table/dresser will be going on the wall where the dresser currently is. Do you follow? Don't worry, I'll be sure to do a post about the whole crazy process. I'm also thinking about a stenciled wall where the crib is going. Just to kind of define it as it's own little space. Here are a few fun things I'm thinking:

[stencil from Royal Design Studio Stencils]


[pinterest]

[or maybe a fun ombre wall]

[and I love how bright and cheery this space is]

Decisions decisions...

So that is where we are at: Thinking about, thinking about prepping for some rearranging and some reorganizing. Do you have any tips or tricks for housing two boys' in a 2 bedroom condo? I'm all about finding ways to make the most out of our small space. Did you totally lag on preparing for the arrival of your second kiddo? Please tell me I'm not the only one... ;)

RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY PRESENTS BUILT TO AMAZE! *MOM DISCOUNT*

We are gearing up to go to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Built to Amaze show tomorrow! I can't wait!

You can still buy your tickets, and get a killer discount while you're at it. Here's the info:

$60 for a family of four?! You can't beat that!

And just to help you and your family get into the lions, and tigers, and bears (oh my!) spirit, here are some fun coloring pages, too!

If you'd rather have the pdf version of the coloring pages, shoot us an email (diapers.divas@gmail.com) and we'd be happy to send them over!

We had so much fun at the show last year, so I really can't wait to see what is in store for this year. Maybe we'll see you there!

RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY PRESENTS BUILT TO AMAZE!

The Ringling Bros. are coming to town! We went to the show last year and had an absolute blast! They keep the show fresh and new every year with a different theme. This year is Built to Amaze. I am intrigued. ;)

Andre McClain, Ringmaster and America’s favorite cowboy takes the Ringling Bros. reins and
accompanied by his horse Comanche, leads his Built To Amaze! funny and mischievous super circus
supervisors, to construct The Greatest Show On Earth. A fantastic design with more than 110 of the
world’s best performers representing 17 countries along with 95 exotic and domestic animals will be
assembled, creating never-before-seen heart pounding performances.


Here's the show schedule & details:

Wednesday, July 10 – Tuesday, July 16
STAPLES Center, Downtown Los Angeles (1111 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles 90015)
**All shows include All Access Pre-Show experience
Ticket prices range from $26, $30, $45-$50 (VIP), $70-$80 (Front Row) and $100-$120 (Circus Celebrity)
Opening Night tickets are only $12 each (not valid for VIP or premium seating)
Tickets available for purchase online at AXS.com, charge by phone at 888-9AXS-TIX or in-person at the
venue Box Office.
*tickets may be subject to service charges, facility and handling fees.


Friday, July 19 – Tuesday, July 23
Citizens Business Bank Arena (4000 Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764)
Ticket prices range from $20, $26, $42 (VIP), $70 (Front Row) and $100 (Circus Celebrity)
Opening Night tickets are only $12 each (not valid for VIP or premium seating)
Tickets available for purchase online at AXS.com or CBBankArena.com, charge by phone at 888-9AXS-TIX or in-person at the venue Box Office.
*tickets may be subject to service charges, facility and handling fees.


Friday, July 26 – Sunday, August 4
Honda Center (2695 E. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806)
Ticket prices range from $20, $26, $42 (VIP), $70 (Front Row) and $100 (Circus Celebrity)
Opening Night tickets are only $12 each (not valid for VIP or premium seating)
Tickets available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.com or HondaCenter.com, charge by phone at
800-745-3000 or in-person at the venue Box Office.
*tickets may be subject to service charges, facility and handling fees.

If you can make it to the pre-show festivities, here's what you can look forward to:
Built To Amaze! opens with the All-Access Pre-show where everyone is invited to join the fun and meet the Built To Amaze! international cast of performers as they prepare for the show. The Ringling Girls and Barnum Boys encourage kids to participate in a tug-of- war and kick off what will soon become an epic battle of girl power versus boy power in Built To Amaze! Audiences also can pick up some hip dance moves during the dance party, try on custom designed costumes, learn circus skills like juggling from the famous Ringling Bros. Clown Alley and even have the opportunity to witness and win a one of a kind masterpiece created by Asia, Ringling Bros. very own painting pachyderm!

We'll be at the Honda Center on July 26th for the show. Hope to see you there!

Round 2

Continuing with our week of playing catch up, here's a little update on what's going on in my West Coast household...

We've been busy! Between working, preschool, and cleaning up around our busy house, there's little time for anything else. ...or is there...?

Back in March, this little thing happened:

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
I know!
It took Hubby and I about a week to absorb the news ourselves. We kept saying odd things like "So... we're really doing this now, huh?". Yes! Yes we are! 

Because we couldn't possibly keep the news to ourselves until the end of the 1st trimester, at around week 7, we told a few friends and of course our family. I picked up a cute little calendar on clearance at Target, because no one buys a calendar for the year in March... and wrote a little something on my projected due date thanks to a quick calculation using babycenter.com.

Sorry for the bad cell phone pic. It's hard to hold still when you're about to tell people you're adding to your brood. ;) My absolute favorite part of this was handing what looks like a normal calendar to the unsuspecting family member. They look at you puzzled and you know they're thinking "Um... Heath, it's March. Thanks...for...the calendar? You're a weirdo". I told them to flip through beacuse there's some fun stuff marked on it. The puzzled look increases as they flip through most of the year like "Seriously? You've lost your dang mind"... until they get to October. The washi tape was a nice touch so they didn't just flip right on passed it. Plus, washi tape just makes everything cuter. Duh.

If you're my sister, you reach that little message on October, which says "Save the Date for Wittle Bird's Arrival", instantaneously burst into tears, which cause me and my mom to squirt some too.
It was a good day.

And here we are. 17 weeks and 4 days gestation. So far, it's super easy. I was barely nauseous except for a random day or two very early on. I was tired, but not so tired that I was ready to pass out at 2pm, like I was when I was pregnant with Will. All in all, I've felt pretty great.

I did get thrown a curve ball. Right after my 1st blood panel, I got a call from the nurse. That's never a good sign. They only call if there's something wrong.
I was in the check-out line at Costco. I answered my phone because I sort of recognized the number. The nurse told me I have Gestational Diabetes. What?! She rattled off a bunch of information that I couldn't process, so I asked her to call me back and leave a voicemail. I called her back and got more information, some questions answered, and was told my plan of action.
It's been quite a whirlwind, but also kind of a nice wake up call, too. I've learned a lot about mine and my family's eating habits. I've changed my diet to accommodate this change and I feel great! And I've lost weight! I've lost almost 10 pounds since I've been pregnant! (I'll pause while other pregnant women hate me... I know... I'm sorry.)
I'll be sure to post my meal plan, some fun facts I've learned, and how this can be a fairly easy switch to your everyday life, even for you non-pregos. I plan to keep this diet regimen up because it's just plain better for your health. It will also help keep me from getting diabetes later in life.

Thanks to this Wittle Bird (that's our nickname until we find out the sex - next week! We called Will "Baby Bird" before he was born, so it's a fun tradition to keep alive.):

[8 week ultrasound]

[14 week ultrasound]
Look at that cute nose and little lips!
That weird looking stick on the upper right side is a femur bone in a leg. Just FYI.

I've been on the nesting kick for a while. First it started with trying to figure out where we are going to put this new little nugget. So I drew up some plans:

Of course I've begun to make a few lists. One list is a bunch of stuff that I want to get done around the house that has nothing to do with the arrival of a new little human living in our abode. The 2nd one, and probably more realistic, is a list of stuff that would make our house run more smoothly, especially with a new warm body occupying it.

And of course, I do random stuff like recover the seats of our kitchen chairs:

Adorable, right?! That is also a separate post in itself with all the details. I just wanted to tease you.

I also got the most awesomest Mother's Day gift this year:

So you can expect much better pictures in the upcoming posts, too! Woohoo! Thanks Hubby!!!

That's my little update for you all. It's been a pretty crazy couple of months! But it's only going to get crazier and way more fun. I can't wait. Yay for 2013 shaping up to be a really exciting year in our household!

xoxo,

Disney On Ice: Treasure Trove - Mom Deal!

Time is running out! If you want to catch the newest Disney On Ice show, Treasure Trove, you need to get on the ball and get your tickets! The show runs from May 1-12 in Long Beach and Ontario. Lucky for you, I have a little promo code for you to get discount tickets!

Here you go, friends (and procrastinators)!

3 Easy Ways to Redeem Your Savings:
1. Go to appropriate Arena Box Office
2. Call ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 (Long Beach Arena) or AXS at 1-888-9AXS TIX (Citizens Business Bank Arena)
3. Log onto Ticketmaster.com (Long Beach Arena) or AXS.com (Citizens Business Bank Arena)

Use code: MOM
Excludes Front Row and VIP seats. No double discounts. Additional fees may apply.


Hope to see you there!

Disney On Ice: Treasure Trove

If you know anything about us over here at Diapers & Divas, it's that we are Disney lovin' gals. I'm super excited that Disney On Ice is still going strong. I remember going to a few of these performances as a kid and they were a blast! I'm excited to take Will to this Treasure Trove performance.

Here's an excerpt from the press release to tell you about the show. Seriously, you couldn't have more of your Disney animated movie bases covered with this performance. They've got every one from Mickey and the gang to Rapunzel to Snow White to Peter Pan!

Hit the ice with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy as they embark on a fun-filled treasure hunt for some of the most popular Disney films ever.  Families can expect to get tangled up in the Walt Disney Studio’s 50^th animated feature with Tangled stars Rapunzel and Flynn, and enter the worlds of other favorite Disney princesses – Tiana, Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Mulan, and of course, the one who started it all, Snow White. Youngsters of all ages will enjoy setting sail with Peter Pan, the always sassy Tinker Bell, and the cantankerous Captain Hook & his pirate pals on an adventure beyond Never Land and trekking the wilds of Africa with Simba, Nala, Pumbaa and Timon as they discover the true meaning of the ‘Circle of Life.’ And no one wants to be late to a very important date with Alice & the Mad Hatter as they march with the Queen of Hearts’ Army of Cards.  Highlighting eight Disney movies and more than 50 Disney characters featured, Feld Entertainment’s Disney On Ice presents Treasure Trove has a magical story for every generation to relive! 



Here are the deets:

WHEN:          Long Beach Arena:   Wednesday, May 1  – Sunday, May 5

300 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802

o   Wednesday, May 1^st    7:30PM

o   Thursday, May 2^nd         7:30PM

o   Friday, May 3^rd                               12:00PM & 7:30PM

o   Saturday, May 4^th          11:30AM, 3:30PM & 7:30PM

o   Sunday, May 5^th             11:30AM, 3:30PM & 7:30PM

Citizens Business Bank Arena:  Wednesday, May 8 – Sunday, May 12

4000 Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764

o   Wednesday, May 8^th    7:30PM

o   Thursday, May 9^th         7:30PM

o   Friday, May 10^th             12:00PM & 7:30PM

o   Saturday, May 11^th        11:30AM, 3:30PM & 7:30PM

o   Sunday, May 12^th           1:30PM & 5:30PM

TICKETS:          Ticket prices range from $20, $25, $45 (VIP) and $65 (Front Row)*

                                Opening Night tickets available for only $12 each (not valid for premium seating) 

Ø  Long Beach tickets available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.com or LongBeachCC.com, charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or in-person at the Long Beach Arena Box Office

Ø  Ontario tickets available for purchase online at AXS.com or CBBankArena.com, charge by phone at 888-9AXS-TIX or in-person at the Citizens Business Bank Arena Box Office

 *tickets may be subject to service charges, facility and handling fees. 

Get your tickets early and maybe we'll see you there!

Recipe: Tomato Soup

It’s not as fast as opening up a can of Campbell’s condensed, but it’s not too terribly time consuming either. It is definitely worth the upgrade in taste! After cruising some basic tomato soup recipes, I came up with my own…
I know, you’re in shock.


Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
1 Onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. EVOO
4 Cups Chicken Stock (or veggie stock)
3 14.5 oz. cans tomatoes (stewed, whole, crushed, what ever)
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 tsp. cayenne for a little kick

Directions:
Heat EVOO in stock pot. Add onion and garlic. Cook down until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add chicken stock, canned tomatoes, thyme, oregano, pepper, and cayenne. Simmer for 10 minutes. Puree ingredients (if you have a stick blender, then this is a breeze!). Taste for seasoning. Adjust if needed. Simmer for a few minutes to let the puree meld and you’re done!

This made 3.5 pints along with the 3 servings we ate for dinner that evening. If you’re a canner like me, you can process the leftovers and store in the pantry for later. Which makes it a lot easier than opening a can of condensed since you’re just opening a can of your own premade fabulousness!

Enjoy!

DIY Chore Chart

Santa started quite the Skylanders craze in our house. Will couldn’t be happier, and is now addicted to these things! Seriously, he talks in his sleep about Skylanders.
Since Hubby & I are just a smidge smarter than a 3 year old, we decided that maybe we should use his Skylanders addiction to our advantage. Thus the Kiddo Chore Chart was born!

I cruised Pinterest for some inspiration, but I couldn’t find anything that quite fit the bill. Hubby & I agreed that it needed to be colorful, fun, and needed to have some kind of moving component.

Here’s what I used:

• Magnetic White Board (I had this over my desk & wasn’t using it.) – $8.94
• Metal Spiderman Bucket (from the $1 bin) – $1
• 3M Command Hook & Velcro Strip (I always have these around the house) – $3.94 for 2 pack
• Square Glass Magnets from Staples – $1 for each 6 pack, need 2 packs
• Pack of Dry Erase Markers – $7
• Mod Podge

I had everything except the magnets & dry erase markers on hand, so I spent $10 out of pocket. If you needed to buy everything, you’re barely over $20. Not too shabby!

First I used the velcro strip thingys and the hook to hang the board & bucket on the wall. I made sure to do it at 3-year-old height, since Will would be the one moving the magnets.

I am on a gold spray kick, so I taped off the inside of the Spiderman bucket and took it outside for a makeover…

After a few light coats of primer and gold spray paint, we were in business. I also sprayed the base of my hurricane while I was at it. I was tired of it being black… the gold is FAB!


Next, it was time to work on the magnets.

We brainstormed for quite a while for some “chores” Will could do. The key is to keep it simple. He’s only 3. So part of the strategy of this Chore Chart is for Will to willingly do everyday tasks without incident.

• Brush Your Teeth
• Get Dressed
• Help Clean Up The House – This is just what ever I ask him to help me with. Put the utensils away from the dishwasher, help sort the laundry & load it in the washer, etc.
• Clean Up Your Room
• Learning – more on this in a minute.

I just used some cute clipart I found on Word and online. I sized them up so they were a tad smaller than the magnets and printed them out on our regular ol’ inkjet printer, on regular ol’ printer paper.

Now that they’re all cut, I placed them on the magnet squares and used a little paint brush to brush on some Mod Podge.

I made sure to Mod Podge the edges well because if a little edge is lifted, someone’s little fingers will find it and peel it. It dries clear, so there’s no need to worry about it looking a little messy.

While the Mod Podge dried, it was time to jazz up the dry erase board:

Now we are in business:

Once it was all installed & ready to go, Hubby sat down and explained how this system works. Will was just a little excited.
 
Here’s how it works:

Every day Will brushes his teeth (or Mom or Dad brush his teeth), and it is a nice & easy experience, Will gets to move his magnet up one square. The same goes for Will getting dressed by himself and cleaning up the toys in his room. Of course, there’s still drama while doing these chores, but typically, he gets one warning like “if you don’t do this nicely, you don’t get to move your magnet”. Sometimes that is a nice reminder and he changes his attitude, and sometimes he doesn’t. It’s a bummer when he doesn’t get to move the magnet up, but that’s life. We don’t make a big deal about it or yell about it. We just remind him that that’s not how you behave, you don’t get to move it, so you’ll have to try and do better next time.

The “Helping Around the House” and “Learning” magnets work a little differently. Those aren’t necessarily on an everyday basis, but maybe every other day or so.
He has happily helped put away the utensils from the dishwasher:
I’ve also had him help me separate the laundry, put the clothes in the basket, and load it into the washer. He also helps put his clean clothes away in his drawers. My favorite part of this particular task is that he’s asked “Mom, are there any chores I can help you with?”. Be still my heart.

The “Learning” magnet is exactly that. He’ll be 4 in a few short weeks, so we figured we needed to work on some pre-kindergarten basics. We’ve worked on writing and recognizing letters:
Since Will isn’t much of a color-er, we vary the learning to other things like puzzles, counting & organizing coins or berries, and other hand-eye coordination skills. It’s also a tv-off, quality time activity, too. Bonus points all around.

Once he’s moved the chore magnet to the top, he can take a Skylander magnet out of the bucket and put it in the spikey bubble. 5 Skylanders in the spikey bubbles = a new Skylander!
The Skylander magnets are just Skylander stickers that came with some of the Skylanders he got for Christmas. Major bonus that they were just the right size for these magnets.

I make sure to put the Chore Chart in a prime location:

After a about a week and a half of hard work, Will earned his first reward:
I think he’s excited…

Do you have a Chore Chart for your munchkin? Do you have any ideas for other types of chores a 3 or 4 year old can do? I’d love to hear, and maybe even use them to evolve our Chore Chart. It’s always good to mix things up!