A long hiatus...

Hi friends! I know its been almost a whole year (yikes) since my last post- and I am so sorry! Life got a little chaotic around our neck of the woods last year but since it is officially a new year, I thought it would be time for a new start! This post might seem like I might be bouncing off the walls, so I hope you stick with me :) If you follow me on Instagram (@mrs_watkins723)
Last year we started the year with John gearing up for our 3rd deployment-which was somewhat of a surprise. But true military nature, always expect surprises :) To be honest, I couldn't tell you everything that we did during those months, simply because we've done so much and I honestly can't remember. But we worked really hard daily on making sure Kaden had dad around everywhere we could bring him-in pictures, books, videos, recordings and his beloved dad-doll I made him. He took that guy with us everywhere! Stores, vacations, appointments-you name it, he came. Eventually I'll share all of our activities with you! 
Speaking of vacation- Kaden, Sophie and I took our first road trip! My mom flew out for my birthday and we decided to make a trip to Indiana to visit my brother and stay for the week. It was definitely worth it, I got to see some of my best friends that I haven't seen in literally 5 years and of course spend time with my brother.  I was able to bring Kaden to meet his grandpa (my dad) as well as another one of is great grandmas. Truly the visit was amazing, a part of me will always be an Indiana girl at heart.
After 6 long months, we were able to welcome our Marine home with the biggest surprise I could ever pull off. Because he was attached to another unit stationed out of state, he was to arrive there and get someone from his office here to pick him up. There was no way I was going to let him get off an airplane and have the first faces from 'home' he sees be someone from work, nope-not on my watch. So I asked for some help from some of his work friends to help me arrange this, found a last minute photographer (due to last minute changes, thanks USMC ;) ) through the wonderful organization of Operation Love and pulled it off. You guys, even typing about it brings tears to my eyes. Which is funny because I actually didn't cry at this homecoming. I was so consumed with making sure we weren't going to have a toddler meltdown after waiting at the airport for almost 5 hours on no nap, making sure he doesn't have a panic attack after finally seeing his dad after 6 long months and making sure that I find John. He walked out of the airport doors, looked RIGHT at me and waved like you wave to a random stranger...stopped in his tracks and had the biggest smile on his face I have ever ever seen. Totally worth it. We came home, re-adjusted to family life-took a beach vacation...and in true military form had to handle months of out of state (and country) trainings. Man let me tell you, that was hard for our toddler.
Kaden started 'pre-school', adjusted to a big boy bed, transitioned to potty training and we are fully 150% in toddler-world. Including time outs, the endless amounts of macaroni and cheese, meltdowns because you say no, but I wouldn't want it to change in any way, life is an adventure, right? We made it through the holidays, John getting shoulder surgery which had him stay home for recovery for almost a whole month now. I'm not sure when was the last time that he was actually home this long, but we'll take it. It definitely will make for an interesting transition when he's back at work for Kaden. Virginia got the memo that it is winter indeed-apparently all in one weekend where we had over 2 feet of snow and now we're looking at 60 degree weather. But I'll take it!
As we officially dive into 2016 with the start of a new month (and the month that my baby will be THREE) we have a lot of new things coming our way for the Watkins family-and I'm excited to share them with you. I promise I'm going to try to do a better job this year-
until next time
xo

Friday Faves..and a GIVEAWAY!

Happy FriYAY everyone! I thought I could jump on the 'Friday Favorite" bandwagon to share some things that I am loving with you all! I love reading other posts about what has been going on, what amazing things people have found and what everyone is sharing...after all-sharing is caring right?? So lets get to it...

1. Yoga. I did some yoga when I was pregnant and I've always loved Pilates. I've even loved PiYO, which is a mix of both! I've gone to the yoga studio down the road from us, Stafford House of Yoga a bit last fall and loved it. Unfortunately scheduling has not allowed me to go back to the classes I've liked. Good news though! They now offer childcare during your classes! That's one of the top reasons why we as moms can't make it to some of our workout classes right? Also, if you follow me on Instagram (@mrs_watkins723) you may have seen Kaden with his yoga mat...which is about the same size of him. We started our first 'Mom and Me' yoga class! We only had a couple other moms there since this was the first class and he was much more inquisitive about what was in the room and kept looking at me like 'what are you doing mom' but he did do some stretches and he smiled the whole class...I'd say that was a win for us. If you're interested in joining us, classes are on Thursday mornings at 10:00 am-oh and if you have a Military ID...you can get 10% off the class!

2. Consignment sales. If you know me, you know I LOVE a good deal. I don't even know if there's a stronger word above love...if there is-then apply it to this scenario. This weekend the traveling Weecycled Wardwrobe  is in town! Well, in Fredericksburg. So last night (they allowed Military members with their ID in for a pre-sale event) a friend and I packed up our toddlers and we made a trip. It wasn't as crazy as it was the last time I went to this one, but the line...my goodness the line. We were pushing dinner, bath and bedtime (to the max) so our little ones were having a blast exploring the toys. I went in looking for spring and summer gear for Kaden and walked out with some shorts, a whole arm full of Carters PJs, the cutest Elmo rainboots and a wonderful Melissa and Doug lock puzzle. This kid loves his locks-and this puzzle goes for about 20.00 on Amazon and Target.  I scored this baby for 6.00. OH and we found the most adorable little bookbag (or backpack...whichever) for our upcoming adventure of PRE-Preschool (as I like to call it..more on that later). Mom wins for sure.

3. Brickyard Buffalo. If you haven't checked them out, you need to. They feature little shops (like mine!) on their site for days at a time for other consumers (like all of you wonderful people) to purchase their items at a sale price! I was featured on their site earlier this month for my 'chosen family' bracelets and I have the pleasure of working with them again on two more designs! I thought that with Mother's Day around the corner each mom has their instincts of being "mama bear" right? (please say I'm not the only one..) SO what better way to affectionately display that than a bracelet? Also  sometimes we all need a little reminder (whether you are a mom or not) to "be brave".  This sale is going on RIGHT NOW and will end Sunday! So I would like to do a giveaway with you all...ready? Here's how you enter:

1. Go to the Facebook page: Watkins and Co. and make sure you LIKE the page.
2. Share this post (Friday Faves..and a Giveaway) with your friends from the Watkins and Co. Facebook page!
*Winner will be picked Monday morning!*

Keep your eyes peeled on Instagram (@mrs_watkins723) for a possible extra entry...

There you have it my friends! Our first Friday Favorites shared with you all! Now head on over to share away and get yourself (or someone special) a new bracelet!

Happy March!

Happy March everyone! February was a crazy month for us- Kaden turning two, our first snow storm,  battle with food poisoning..but onward to another month! I'm really excited for March, not only because the first day of SPRING is coming..I have some exciting news!

Have you ever checked out Brickyard Buffalo? It is an online pop up shop featuring different shops..and guess who gets to work with that wonderful site? Oh just little ol' me! I am incredibly excited about this opportunity and really hopeful that there is a great response. My 'chosen family' hand made cuff bracelets will be featured for 4 days starting on Monday! This bracelet means so much to me because of our lifestyle. We spend so much time away from our families, so we have to make our own 'framily'! We come across so many people with all of our moves but some people click more so than some others and we have lifetime friends, non-related sisters and non-biological aunts and uncles for our kids.
So do a girl a favor and go check it out, think about who you have in your life that is your own 'chosen family' and tell all your friends! :)

The Weecycled Wardworbe is coming up this month! I love going to this big sale to get all of Kaden's upcoming season things! You know this girl loves a deal. This month it is March 13-16, so don't forget to put it on your calendars! You'll see me there at the night before they open the doors to the public, let me know if you want to come along! :)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for warmer weather. Yes I realize we are in Virginia and it is winter, but having a toddler- I long for warm weather so we can go outside and burn off that energy. Until then, we will be frequenting Kids in Motion which is an indoor inflatable bounce house filled with so many amazing things for little kids! We'll also be checking out a couple other places, we really want to get Kaden into soccer. I mean is there anything more adorable than a bunch of little kids learning how to play soccer? I think not.

Also, I'm going to do my best at something I 'created' called 'Money Saving March'. You may think I'm crazy- which is totally okay because I could be-but I literally do not need anything that could be considered 'fluff'. SO I'm going to be challenging myself to not buying anything that we absolutely do not need (besides heading to the consignment sale). That means no thrifting, no random Target runs..so I will be filling my time with getting rid of things! I don't know if its because of Spring coming up-but I want to try to get a jump on the Spring cleaning train! Wish me luck :)

So on that note...I'm going to go work on my mountain of laundry. Be sure to help this girl out and share the news of Brickyard Buffalo with your friends! Sale starts tomorrow bright and early!
xo

We have a toddler...

Alright friends. Here we go, I'm going to get my butt going with sharing whats going on! Now that we've had a week for the dust to settle-Kaden had his 2nd birthday party last weekend! I seriously can not believe how time has just flew by already! (You can read about his story here) We didn't have a big party for him last year since we just moved to our new home shortly before his birthday. So I was walking into unchartered territory with a toddler party. How much is TOO much? What do you cook? Do you have a list of activities for a bunch of 2 year olds? Most importantly: do you have mimosas for the moms?! (Spoiler alert: next time we have a toddler party...the answer is YES)
One of his favorite books ever is Little Blue Truck so I perused around looking at ideas for a toddler's party. I came across Kates blog, Nearly Crafty and she had such amazing ideas! Kate created the great invitations that I used for his party and even helped find the same font as what is in the story! And for a perfectionist, that is great news. The thought of having a house full of toddlers slightly terrified me, so one of my good friends suggested that we host the party at the clubhouse on base! Sounds like a fantastic idea to me, she reserved the room for me, the date was set and planning was under way. I used Kate's template for the invites, typed the information and took them to Staples to have them printed! Easy squeasy! Now if you're like me and want things to be 'cohesive' the font used in the book is called P.T. Barnum.

I also followed Kate's idea with some of the activities. I ordered little blue truck foam ornaments from Oriental Trading for the littles to make and to double as their own personalized favors! 

I later realized that we did NOT need glue, these bad boys are sticky after you peel the paper off the back! Pleasant surprise! We also had a bunch of blue truck printables for kids to color. 

I'm so sad I didn't get a whole picture of our foods! I tried to keep it simple (mainly because I was cooking it all) and thought about what kids would like to eat. We had mini corn-dogs, home made pasta salad (included veggies), homemade roasted red peppers hummus with crackers, rice crispy treats (which I have YET to make a perfect batch of...but I digress) lemonade, juices and most importantly...CUPCAKES. I made a classic white with a vanilla buttercream frosting.  I also made party popcorn for extra favors for everyone (because I'm crazy like that-this was a last minute decision) I'll share that recipe with you all another time!

I used the same font for his banner with my super amazing Silhouette machine. I also used the font and the machine with the print and cut feature to make thank you tags for the popcorn bags. 

Kids came to play, eat and run around. I think we had an overall good birthday party! We approached nap time...aka melt down time right before everyone left which we all thought would be coming our way. We truly have amazing friends that came to celebrate and help when we needed it. I may or may not have gotten a little teary eyed when we all sang to Kaden. I just can't believe that he is TWO! I can't believe he was once a little 3 pound baby living in an incubator and fighting for his life, I really do believe that you can't even tell. He has grown into such an amazing little person and his personality just surprises me every day. He is such a sweet, loving and compassionate little boy. I know all babies are sweet and loving, but I'm not sure when we will hit the 'rough and tough' stage but this little guy loves his mama and I'm not afraid to share that with the world- I'll take it as long as I can. 

I'm back...sort of.

Friends, I am so sorry that I have yet again seem to have a taken a 'hiatus' from the blogging world. I'm sure everyone has had a great holiday season and a great New Year celebration! It has been crazy over in our world, I don't even know where to begin. 

We are preparing for a 2nd birthday celebration next month- and I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that my little baby will be TWO. He's been all over the place, we call him 'jabber jaw' now. The amount of information that he is learning blows my mind and I am so proud of him every day. 

I am still making projects left and right. I told myself (and a couple of my best friends) that I wasn't going to take on anymore, but I just seem to have to try one more thing...after another. I have been working with hand stamping jewelry-necklaces and cuffs to be exact! I love creating custom personalized things for family and friends. Check out my Etsy site for listings! 

Kaden and I have started our second semester of MOPS this past week! Its so nice to be around such a positive environment. As a mom, we have our moments-right? MOPS (to me) is a place where you don't feel judgement based off of your decisions, your good days and bad days, your frustrations, your accomplishments or for just being yourself. We have great meetings that really get my mind thinking. I have plans on sharing some of our discussions with you all after our meetings :) It is also amazing that Kaden has fun going. He's in a room with kids his age, they play and do crafts for a couple of hours which I think is great for an almost 2 year old. I think it could be great preperation for when he heads to school.....someday.

We are embarking on a new adventure, the Watkins family. I'm sure I will have a whole butt load of crazy stories coming your way, along with (hopefully) weekly delicious recipes. Thank you all for sticking with us so far, I can't wait to share the next year of adventures with you all!
Don't forget to connect with me on Instagram HERE
And Don't forget to get connected to the Facebook page HERE
xo

Crazytown- Population: 2

Hi friends! It has been quite a whirlwind around these parts. We are working on getting our Christmas decorations up, getting presents ready, the house ready all while we continue our daily activities. We started our new family tradition of getting our tree! Growing up, we had both fake and real trees-but we mostly had fake ones with my mom. They were easier for us I think so they just stuck. John grew up with real trees, so we decided to carry on that idea with our own family. This year we were able to go and cut down a tree instead of picking it up from Home Depot. Don't get me wrong-those trees were fine-but this was new. We got to hunt for the perfect tree, pick it out and even support local-all wins in my book! We went to Sneads Farm in Fredericksburg and it was wonderful!

They actually were hosting a USO event that we didn't know about but got to check it out. They were providing military families with a free tree, stand, decorations, wrapping paper, lunch all sorts of wonderful things all for free! You enter into a drawing and you get your voucher emailed to you if you were picked-but we were able to still participate. It was amazing! Not to mention the farm had fresh kettle corn...and if you know me-I love my popcorn.  Kaden had a blast, we have a perfect tree and all we need is for Santa to come down our chimney!

One of the great things about the Marine Corps is the friendships that we get to make. Granted we only get to stay (geographically) close for a few years at a time but with all the jobs stationed around the world (literally) you're bound to come across one another again-but if you're lucky enough to become friends with a few of these amazing people-then you get to plan a get together! One of my good friends from Twentynine Palms was here visiting family while her husband was training and we were so lucky that we got to have her and her wonderful daughter over! Kaden and Aleyna are 4 days apart and Laura and I were working together and pregnant together at the same time. It was amazing to see her and her little one. We joke that we already have our kids' marriage arranged so we'll see each other all the time. Kaden and Aleyna truly had the best time together- these pictures are about a year apart (exactly) look how big they are now!

I had some of our kickball ladies over with their little ones to decorate salt dough ornaments last week. We had lots of baked goods, coffee, kids running around playing and adult conversation-all amazing things in my book! We also had a holiday get together and bunco night the other night with the same ladies-a much needed 'mom's night out'! I'm so glad I joined this team of ladies-we all have different stories but we all have things in common and having our lifestyle- we usually have family far away so we get to 'make' our own family and that is an amazing feeling.

We have a crazy week ahead of us with Christmas fast approaching. Kaden has his LAST developmental NICU follow up!! (insert happy dance here) I can honestly say I'm not as worried about this appointment as I was the last rounds-this kid is a parrot and repeats (or tries to) every word out of your mouth. He is learning new things every day and he's growing and getting through every stage of toddler-hood we can have-all while I'm pulling my hair. But I wouldn't change it for anything-he's doing what he needs to do and I am truly grateful for it.
My mom is coming to visit! I haven't seen her since last Christmas! This is the longest gap that we've gone not seeing each other, which is weird-but I know she's excited to come and see Kaden (and me too maybe...) She's coming from the warm weather of Arizona-and we're expecting snow soon-she's in for a surprise.
So between a big appointment, my mom coming and a few play dates scattered throughout the week. We have our hands full. One thing I do want to share with you is I just received this amazing new cookbook from the Birchbox Book Club that I am a part of- Homemade Decadence by Joy the Baker. Let me tell you-it looks amazing. I can't wait to share the recipes with you! I hope to share them on a regular basis with you all because I want to make everything. SO if you're local, get in touch with me because I need to share all of these baked goods with you.

I'm going to make it my mission to be better with my posts with you all-probably starting with a delicious baked good. Until then, I'm going to go enjoy watching "The Holiday" on Lifetime and mentally prepare myself for the crazy week we have ahead of us! 

Holiday Crafting

Happy December everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and if you participated in Black Friday, I hope you got some amazing deals! I stayed in my PJ's and scored some deals online-my favorite way to shop :)
Everyone seems to either have their decorations up, or are in the process of decorating. Last winter we were moving across country, so we didn't have a chance to decorate so we are working on ours now! I'm excited to be able to with Kaden getting older so he can see everything and enjoy all the wonderful lights.
You may have seen this on Instagram or Facebook, but one of my newest crafts was our holiday chalkboard with a pompom garland-I love it.

 

A few weeks ago I made (with some help of course ha) a giant chalkboard. I found the tutorial on a fellow blogger's site over at We Lived Happily Ever After. She has amazing tutorials, graphics, printables and so many wonderful ideas! She's also a fellow Marine wife so decorating our homes can be kind of difficult because we move every few years. Go take a look at what she has going on! Anywho, a few of you have wanted to know how to make it-so I would love to share this with you! Click HERE for Hannah's chalkboard.  

For this project, you can get everything at Lowe's or Home Depot in one swoop. 
You'll need:

Two 1x4" boards cut at 27" 

Two 1x4" boards cut at 45" 

The plywood backboard is 4x2'

- See more at: http://www.welivedhappilyeverafter.com/search?q=chalkboard#sthash.RrDBJHkO.dpufer

Two 1x4" boards cut at 27" 

Two 1x4" boards cut at 45" 

One plywood backboard at 4x2' (make sure it is SMOOTH)

Metal braces

Chalkboard Paint (you can make your own, but I already have a ready made can)

Wood screws

any paint or stain for your boarder

1. Paint your big plywood backboard with your chalkboard paint. I put about 4 coats on it to make sure it is super coated since the wood absorbed most of the first coat. Paint your boarder boards as well. I did this one afternoon to let all of them fully dry overnight before I put everything together. 

2. Take your metal braces with your wood screws and connect the boarders with them. Make sure you put the braces towards the top of the boards-you will be attaching the main board to the same boarder! (I'm sorry I didn't take pictures of this while we were putting them together!) The two smaller pieces will be top and bottom and the longers on the sides (which seems pretty simple, but just to make sure we're all on the same page) 

3. After the boarder is put together, place your backboard on the boarder- and you guessed it-take your wood screws and attach the board. 

4. Flip it over and 'condition' your board with chalk. Rub rub and rub some more chalk on it and lightly erase it.

5. Take a step back and admire your new chalkboard! 

I apologize for the not so great lighting...eek.

 Well there you have it my friends! Easy peasy cost effective chalkboard, just my style. I also made the pom-pom garland that went on top of the board-which I will be happily sharing with you all- so stay tuned! 

xox

Two 1x4" boards cut at 27" 

Two 1x4" boards cut at 45" 

The plywood backboard is 4x2'

- See more at: http://www.welivedhappilyeverafter.com/search?q=chalkboard#sthash.RrDBJHkO.dpuf

Two 1x4" boards cut at 27" 

Two 1x4" boards cut at 45" 

The plywood backboard is 4x2'

- See more at: http://www.welivedhappilyeverafter.com/search?q=chalkboard#sthash.RrDBJHkO.dpuf