Halloween 2017

Last week after school Halloween began for our family! I picked up Princess Elena of Avalon and we head right over to NOMA to enjoy a Pumpkin Palooza!

We have been attending for the last few years and it’s amazing how this community event has grown tremendously in attendance numbers!

Next up… we enjoyed some weekday funnin at Catholic University! Both kids were official NASA astronauts ( it was so cold baby boy didn’t get to show off his shirt…. but he did trick or treat…. for me 😜 because I mean let’s be honest…. I can’t let my precious baby eat candy yet!) The kids had a blast! The students worked hard and were so kind to the attendees! They served pizza and snacks, had a trick or treat trail with fun costumes all around. Tons of games and activities, face paint and two moon bounces on a large field that was highly decorated for all to enjoy! We will definitely be back next year!

Three days into Halloween and it’s time to hit the Halloween streets! Crowded per usual! Fun costumes and a bucket full of goodies.

Are anyone else’s kids obsessed with The Descendants Movie? Liv/Uma was pumped to get all suited up and debut her outfit!

The weekend was also filled with parties cue: Beyoncé “We Like to Party” ….. and

Halloween has not even officially arrived!

Daddy playing wingman to our little “ladies man”.

We have a few more events to attend to finish off our Halloween season ( I miiiight update this post to include them)

Happy Candy Day 🎃

We Love Growth

If only I could blog directly from my brain to WordPress I could share so much more….. Life is so good! My tribe is in a constant state of upward movement and we are blessed to be favored by the creator!

So baby girl lost her first tooth! 

*squeals* OMG! 

It was the most beautiful, natural ,drama free right of passage. 

Prior to bed we read 

Ironically, today is #NationalToothFairyDay and when my princess awoke she was greeted with glitter money and chocolate coins in exchange for her first tooth! We also provided her “proof” of the fairies existence with glitter *Read: Fairy Dust* left sprinkled about and a photo of a small fairy a over her while she was sleep.   Ahhh the magic in her her being when she awoke was worth it all.

This past weekend mi familia celebrated our little Prince that will be joining our tribe in just a few weeks. So beyond Thankful to those who continue to support us with love and encouragement. Good vibes were had by all and as I reflect, to have friendships with individuals that I consider to be family and bask in the levels of life that we have and continue to experience together is a huge success to me! Like I’m honored to have my family surrounded by so many good souls.

SN: My family needs a photographer… Im happy we captured the few snaps we have  ,we are such in the moment people that we never get enough pics! I guess when life is so good you never feel like you have enough huh?

The “It’s a Boy” & ” Oh Baby” cups were super cute favors. 

Ha! Peep Uncle Nate trying to break free from the girls 

MommyCon DC 2016

So I attended MommyCon! 

It was intense and I am 6 months pregnant and my helpful ,energetic 5 year old Princess was my helper for the day  *wipes sweat off my brow because she really is great and helps mommy so much*. 

MommyCon started at 9am on a Saturday and my Gawd was that a thing. I swear it is the hottest of days right now and I work full time and did I mention I’m growing a young king … But we got there in time 🙂 Because I was excited and I have that adult timed sleep schedule that awakes me at 6:30 am regardless if it’s the weekend or not. 

The giveaways made it worthwhile for me we came in and spent at least two hours engaging vendors and being loaded down with goodies! MOM’s Organic Market was there fueling our snacking needs. Tons of baby brands that it would be impossible to name and Liv scoped out a new vendor Whole Life Services and per her love for squishy things that allow her to create just had to have some Aroma Doh. The Momma owner, Angel was really amazing to chat with. Definitely check out their goodies! Once Liv and I concluded the vendor area and received our gift bags we headed to a few of the sessions.

My favorite sessions were baby wearing which I really look forward to mastering this time around.

Another fave was the cloth diapering session. I had a few in rotation with Liv ,but it’s important to me to that I utilize a large stash of reusable diapers for my son. This will be optimal for his health and our carbon footprint as a family. I met some wonderful ladies that Are skilled in placenta encapsulation. Have any of you warrior moms taken your placentas home? I’m so fascinated by the journeys of new life.

Cotton Babies held a informative and motivating about the decision/ necessity to start a brand that provided a sustainable diapering option for babies. Not only is it way less chemicals on your developing nations child’s bum ,but it eliminates the extreme stress of diapering costs. The reality that some families stress over the decision of what to eat because of disposable diaper cost is sad and information must be shared to empower parents to cloth diaper regardless the brand. The owner even demonstrated a DIY demo to creating your own cloth diaper!

At the conclusion of the day their was a massive giveaway session. I won a few cloth diapers Yipee!!! 

With a young growing family and my passion about being a mommy I would definitely attend again. Sadly I’ve gotten word that DC may not be on next years tour schedule due to venue scheduling conflicts, and I’m not sure that I’d travel far for this event. 

WeLove Play

Let me start by beaming about how the thrill of living in DC proper is a long awaited joy! Establishing goals that serve your family and cutting down on our commuting time is a wonderful feeling! This past Saturday we spent the majority of our early day on the playground! Kaboom & Playworks DC Hosted a wonderful day of play for the entire family! We have experienced so much rain lately that we were eager to get out and play with Mr. Golden Sun!

We value outdoor freedom, physical activity and children’s imagination. The fact that the new trend is to decrease/ eliminate recess for children is literally deplorable. #Rally4Recess had petitions on hand as well as a day of fun and healthy food for everyone. Sidewalk chalk, classic group games, and balls of all types was a nostalgic Saturday for me as a parent. 

Of course while at play everyone works up quite the appetite and Honest juice and DC Central Kitchen was on hand to feul us with wraps and fresh fruit. The bounty of apples and pears also kept us going. 

Sometimes we go for a over scheduled weekend with more running around then is necessary and this weekend we kept it classic with a day of outdoor recess. We had a blast!

WeLove Sunshine

Sunny days are meant to be outside! With no shoes, yummy food and your favorite people! Things have changed and I am not a SAHM anymore. I’m so thankful for my career ,but the parameters of a traditional office setting when I really wanted to lay in the grass with my bush out was so challenging for me this week. Luckily I get off earlyish enough and nature and my family love me enough that after work they saved a little Sun time for me ☺️

 

I love the commutable benefits to DC and the cute experiences that are abundantly available. My family and I celebrated the Sun with cupcakes!  

Baked & Wired is our favorite Georgetown bakery. The cupcakes are big enough to share and so yummy! We each like different flavored which makes it fun to get a bite of each! Carrot Cake, Strawberry & Unicorn were on the menu. After our treats they was plenty of dancing in the Georgetown streets and laying in the Sun! Family makes everything so much sweeter! I love my people!  

   

WeLove Plants

Prior to Liv I was living vegan until my second trimester of pregnancy. The past few months the removal of all dead things from our diet has been happening and baby girl is enjoying our new meat substitutes! Liv has been requesting tacos and after hunting down a meat free, soy free, gluten free option I believe we have a winner!  

 

I was so excited when I found this brand in Wegmans that I couldn’t stop rereading the package! Liv approves! Faux meat always has a lighter texture then actual animal flesh but this brand was absolutely heavier then Morningstar which I have used in the past and at the time absolutely included soy in their ingredients. So if you are looking for a healthier way to make your tacos I definitely recommend this swap out! Enjoy and let me know how this product goes over with your littles.

WeLove Baking

Cooking with your children is so wonderful! Allowing children to get hands on experience with their food is so valuable. With all the colors, quantities as well as textures and terminologies your child can take great lessons away with each recipie! Never underestimate the value of real life experience at any age. Bake it Fun provided me a baking sheet in exchange for my honest review and I was thrilled to try out the product.

 I am so accustomed to traditional metal pans that pile high in my kitchen the intrigue for this baking mat that rolled up easily was high. Our cooking process was much of the same. Normally I just kinda toss the metal pans in the half way open oven , but with the nature of this mat I did have to actually open the oven and place the mat on the shelf. However, the cleaning was sooooo easy! No Brillo and elbow grease needed! And being able to bend and store the mat makes it all so dreamy! As a busy mom I need all my tools to be as simple and stress free as possible. I will continue to reach for my “Bake it Fun” baking mat first before any of my old metal ones in the future.

Habari Gani?

Last post of 2014! What a blessing to move forward in life! To have another day to love to create to learn! Below is a photo recap of a few things that have been keeping us busy!

Winternational was a gathering of many embassies, opening up there customs and treats to us this winter season. Liv got her first henna tattoo and enjoyed dancing to the live music! It’s always wonderful to experience new cultures without even getting your passport stamped!

Zoolights is an annual must! Armed with Starbucks hot chocolate and blueberry muffins we had a blast!

This was the first year I have ever celebrated Kwanzaa! I feel so blessed to be sharing these principles with my child early on connecting with a community of like minds on various levels!
Eagerly anticipating 2015 and beyond!

WeLove Chickfila

Yes. That’s right. FREE Breakfast Wednesdays at Chick-fil-A Capital Centre!
December 2014 – February 2015, stop by between 6-10:30am on Wednesdays for a FREE breakfast entree. Store will select the one item each week.

We Love to Discover

The Discovery Theatre on The National Mall is always a good time! The theatrical learning, storytelling, musical performance and introduction to new languages that happens here is simply wonderful. I make it a point to get Liv tickets for every age appropriate show they have.
This past week her aunt accompanied her to see “The Little Bred Hen” with Barefoot Puppets.

After the show there was an amazing Gingerbread House display by Jenni Vorhees as well as yummy cookie decorating.