Back to School: Teacher Appreciation Gifts

i'm still swept up in new baby craziness. loving every minute of it...but back to school has snuck up on me and even though i don't have to worry about that right now i wanted to help out all you mama's and pass along these awesome diy gift ideas i had come across! cheap, easy and sooo sweet! you could try and squeeze this kind gesture into your busy schedule..they seem easy enough that you could whip up some of these over the weekend. but if you don't get a chance..a simple thank you for all you do would be just as appreciated i'm sure. :) i'm friends with a lot of teachers and they work so hard! i'm going to come back to these ideas for myself the day my girls go to school... bookmarking this post! ;)

Back to school essentials via Confetti

Smore Kit via Domesticated Lady

( i love this one because i pop these in the  microwave all the time..and this gift would make a teacher run to the teacher's lounge for a sweet little pick me up. ;)

Apple Appreciation via Skip to my Lou

"thanks you're sweet" free printable via living locurto

have fun crafting and giving!

Bringing Home Baby #2-My Mama Reflections

In some ways these past few days have been in slo-mo but then again i feel like
they have just flown by!! it's a strange sensation. 
But no matter what.... they have been full of amazing moments!! 

Every pregnancy, child, mama experience is different....

but here's my personal reflections on motherhood the 2nd time around!

1. My contractions from nursing are wayyyy more painful then with sophia. and i hear that is normal. but normal or not.. i don't like it haha. and i just have to keep telling myself that it's good and helping me get healthy and skinny again! 

2. I feel like a pro compared to the last time. so much more secure in how i handle everything when it comes to baby. Nursing was easy the first time (thankfully!!) and it has been just as easy this time around.

3.As far as sleeping sienna is a much better sleeper than sophia. she actually likes her bassinet and i can nurse her and place her right back in..she falls back to sleep in 2 seconds compared to sophia who took some convincing. i'm sure it is mainly because of her temperament, but i bet she can sense how we are not stressed and more comfortable. plus i think we are just used to not getting sleep from sophia...so any sleep is wonderful. hehe.

4. I'm way more realistic about how my body was going to look post-baby.....i'm trying to remember when the "tum tum" went away with sophia.. i'm going to try and document it this time because i think it'll help keep me focused and motivated to get fit. i'm not going to be a crazy exerciser...(nursing and chasing a 2 yr old should help...) but i am going to actively try and get in shape unlike with sophia where it just kinda happened. 

5. I'm lovingggg having the girls together. sophia has been extremely lovey and that is the only "difficulty" we are having right now with her. she doesn't know her own strength and her "moochies" can end up being a little strong. haha. but she means well and is getting better every day with how she interacts with her.

6. in the morning she usually calls from her crib "mommyyyy...dadddy..." just sitting and waiting for us to acknowledge her presence and come get her haha. but the first morning home my went to get her and heard "mommyyy...daddyyy....babyyyyy..." when she told me that it melted my heart. snuggle time in the morning has been double the fun now that we have two cuties. :)

7. I realized that i call out for ben a lot right now...sophia now calls to daddy from her high chair.."binnnnnnn" haha. she is my echo. i also realized that i say "she's so cuteee" a little too much. haha. sophia is our little parrot. 


8. trying to do etsy orders while on pain medication is a little risky..sent a girl chocolate bar labels instead of the water bottle labels she ordered..haha. luckily she was nothing but sweet and completely forgiving since i just gave birth 24 hours earlier. :)


9. I really feel like things have been wayyyy easier than i thought they were going to be! It probably is because sienna is such an amazingly easy baby...but things are just flowing.. and even with the sleep deprivation and soreness....i am so happy. feeling very blessed and so peaceful with where we are in life. 
if you are nervous about having a 2nd baby..don't be... it's amazing. 
and that is coming from an exhausted-just gave birth-mama. ;)

ok i could go on and on but i'll stop..:) thank you for all the wonderful kind words and congratulations.. i really loved checking my e-mail and seeing your comments.. i am so happy to share our joy and celebration right now with you all!! 

My next task is finishing planning sophia's 2 yr old birthday party and sienn'a baptism. (we are doing a joint celebration so out of town guests can attend both!) i'll keep you posted on all the fun details!! you know me..i can't do anything small.. i've been collecting cereal/other boxes for sophia's sweetopia supermarket for weeks now. cause seriously...you can't have a sweetshop theme without a sweetopia village that has a supermarket full of play food!! come on! ;)

 

Introducing..... Sienna Goretti.

Ok are you ready for picture overload?!? i just can't help myself. we are so overflowing with joy right now!  We are so excited to share with everyone our newest bundle of joy!! 

My Labor Story

The doctor told us to leave our house to get things rolling at 10:30… we were a tad anxious and arriveddd there at 10:30. ben insisted i wear the socks.....haha. and ben being completely giddy was making faces.. this is his nervous "we're about to have a baby!!!" face.

They had me hooked up by 12:00..giving me an antibiotic I needed and they wanted me to have before the baby arrived. They gave me petocin to try and regulate/get closer my  8 minute apart contractions. Pretty much immediately I went to 2-4 minute contractions. Intensifying in pain. I tried to be a big girl and last as long as possible before I got my epidural so that it wouldn’t spread them a part. I received that at 1:25am.  They checked me when I first got there and I was still 3 cm dilated but now 90 percent effaced (80 percent the day before).  

i did my makeup..because i'm silly like that. ben had to capture the moment...

(we were about to be making memories people!! gotta look glam!)

An hour after having my epidural I started feeling strong pressure down low that made me cringe and grab the bed handles.i had one or two big ones...i thought my epidural was wearing off so I hit the button and then called the nurse to tell her about the pressure. They leisurely were making their way in to break my water..that was the plan of what to do next once the antibiotics went in.. but they saw how I was reacting to the pressure…glanced at me…and there was baby’s head! Coming out on her own. They quickly set up and then 2 pushes and screams later baby was out! I felt like a wild woman screaming but they reassured me that those were no “Screams”. Haha.

The nurse wasn't sure what time to put down as "start of labor"…….it just kinda happened! The doctor and nurses were fabulous. They felt like we just got started and boom baby was here. It was incredible and amazing and recovery is going great.She has dark hair!! like her mama! (sophie came out a light brown then turned blonde.)
Sienna's hair is a little coarse like sophie's..so maybe it'll go curly too!
After her bath her hair sticks straight out! it's awesome. haha.

my mom was there to see her right after she was born!

My mom brought sophie later that morning to meet her little sister for the first time!
and sophia said..."aw she's so key-uteee" she wants to hold her all by herself right now...so we'll have to work on that. she's pretty gentle but she can give some pretty aggressive smoochies. ;)
i missed my sophia so much when we were in the hospital! it was my first night away from her.. she did great with grandma though. i was told they had lots of dance parties with tutu's on their head. ;)

I LOVE the photo in the middle here.... my girls.
i'm so excited i have a blondie and a brunette! fun fun!

grandma lovin' :) my mom has been such a big help! and ben's mom is coming in soon..we can't wait!

sophia asked to say cheese..haha.

She is a great nurser and sleeper…she doesn't cry...i think she has cried twice. ?! 

i'm sure that will change but for now i'm enjoying my angel baby.

feeling so blessed. So in love with my girls. Jand my amazing hubby whose finger is still a tad red from me squeezing it during the pain. Haha. Thanks for the prayers..they were definitely felt.
for those curious about the name... sienna and goretti are both saint names that we think are pretty.and are women who we admire. (st. catherine of sienna and st. maria goretti..look them up if you are interested..they have amazing stories..especially maria goretti.)

ps. the chocolate bars were a hit! the nursing staff said i was their favorite... ;)  they were sooo sweet and friendly..chocolate helps everyone be in a better mood hehe. one of the girls was even so sweet she stopped by my room just to say bye when she was heading out. yay for great nurses.
pss. i also loveee the surprise gift from ben..he ordered one the 'Buckets of Love' that his cousin creates. i love the personal details.. and the container is a great size! (thank you so much jill i love it!!!)

we are heading home this morning!! so excited..and the fact that my mom is there cooking yummy food already is even more exciting. hehe. thanks for sharing in our joy with us! have a great day ladies!
**this was originally posted on tuesday- i'll be posting an update soon. right now just enjoying our girls and time with family. thanks for all the kind words!**

i'm a little busy right now.....

Because i can't just sit around waiting to give birth........

I added new items to my etsy shop!
Sophia was my little model. The headband was all her. (she loves her accessories...)

She's also wearing (by request) two tutu's. this girl likes poof!

 











 





i would love it if you would stop over at my shop and check out my items! i'm so excited about them :) they were really fun to create. if you have any ideas of something you want to create let me know and we can work up something together!