our first taste of fall

 It still may be in the nineties here, but fall officially arrived for our little fam this past weekend.  It's a transition for my dear friend Colleen and I to go apple picking.  After doing this for a couple of years we thought we finally had it figured out and all set to go.  Our first year we went too late in the season and basically picked apples off the ground.  Last year we nailed it by going during the right time and we also found a pear orchard along the way.  So this year we quickly put the date on our calendars, and I was counting down the days. 

Or course things have to go a bit off-course, though!  I had heard earlier that day that this season the crops were so low that apple picking was over.  What?!?!  I panicked, and then did everything I could to figure out which one orchard in all of Julian was still open.  Let me just say that orchards are very hard to get ahold of during apple picking season!  

We decided to make the trek up to Julian, head to the orchard we thought would be open, and if all else failed we would go to the winery that was right next to it.  Fortunately everything worked out amazingly.  The orchard we had went to last year was open to the public, their was a faint crispness in the air, and Nathan was happy as a clam once we arrived (let's not mentioned the fact that he screamed the last ten minutes of the car ride).  

I gave Nathan his first raw apple for him to teeth away on.  That apple was his best friend the entire day.  Anywhere he went, the apple came too, and he was very good at switching hands holding while getting strapped in and out of the stroller.  As soon as he was asleep, I quickly snuck that apple away from him because it was collecting all sorts of yucky goodies.  

Colleen and I had so much fun strolling along the orchard, finding the perfect apples, and collectively agreeing how good it felt.  It felt like fall had finally arrived and my heart was overflowing with joy over the fact that Nathan is here to enjoy all of these little festivities with us.  Our next adventure will be the pumpkin patch!  Although, I'm sure next year will be that much better as he walks and runs all over the place.  This year I imagine him trying to either eat a pumpkin or climb on top of it.  

Oh, and I fully planned on taking some adorable pictures of Nathan at the orchard with our camera only to realize that I forgot the memory card!!  Totally mom fail...thank goodness for camera phones and terrible lighting! 

10 things on a friday

 Happy Friday Lovies!!!  Here are 10 random things for your day! 

1. Costco is killing it lately with their products!  I'm seeing more and more organic choices that are so much more affordable than other stores.  Coconut flour?  Yep.  Almond butter that's a bit cheaper than what they originally carried?  Yep.  And now, Suja juice?!?!  This stuff is so pricey at other stores, I have no idea how people afford it.  Anyways, Costco has this two pack for $9 and the bottles are lasting us 3 days.  I'm a fan, and Nathan is too! 

2. Two words: fall TV!  Oh wait, when will I ever have time to watch my shows?  

3. Taco salad is going to be our number one staple around here.  It's easy and delicious, leaves a smaller mess than most meals in our house, and we devour it.  

4. I got really brave and decided to trim my own bangs!  I think I held my breath the entire time and was thinking of ways to pull them back in case I totally butchered them.  Well, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out for the first time.  And because I know you just want to, here's me at this very moment.....

5. Last weekend the little man and I decided to skip church and soak in some quality time at this gorgeous park in Del Mar.  He was acting a bit fussy, but I let it slide this time.  As I started walking back to my car I noticed someone writing me a parking ticket...on a Sunday?!?!  So I ran over, pleaded with him, blamed the baby, and was saved.  

6. Nathan gets to experience his first fall tradition of apple picking tomorrow.  Now if San Diego could just cool down a bit so we could dress for fall I would be ecstatic. 

7. When my alarm clock went off this morning, I wanted to cry.  I'm counting down the days until Thanksgiving break so I can sleep in. 

8. Little Nathan is getting quite adventurous in the bath tub giving me mini heart attacks.  He wants so badly to pull himself up onto the ledge and grab that one ducky that's not his in tub.  He also loves to try to crawl from one end to the other, so we put maybe two inches of water in the bath now. 

9. I made these chocolate chip pumpkin muffins that happened to be gluten free last weekend and quickly devoured them.  Holy moly!  Delicious doesn't even come close to how good they are! 

10. I'm currently smelling my fav candle from Bath&Body Works after getting my 2 for $22 sale on and am in love :) 

five tips to balance work and family

I never thought it was possible, but working full-time is getting a bit easier while also taking care of my family!  By the way, the picture really has nothing to do with this post...it just makes me gush so I had to share.  Before going back to work, I'd look at all of the things that would get done around the house and thought it would be a true miracle if I could still keep up with them.  Well, I still find it a miracle if my bathroom is clean, but I'm learning some tricks along the way that have helped me manage my time better so I'm present in my job, with my family, and in the house duties.  There are still a million things to learn, but I wanted to share just a few that have helped me in this transition.  

1. It will still be there tomorrow!  I hate this, but it's so true.  A sink of dirty dishes at night isn't my favorite thing, but I'm learning to let it slide one or two nights a week.  Also, running the dishwasher in the morning helps tremendously so that I can easily unload it when I get home.  Our bathrooms are still a mess, but I like to park that into my "weekend" slot in my brain.  "Saturdays are for bathrooms.  Check."  It makes my head spin a little bit less.  

2. Unpack everything when you get home.  I find that after picking Nathan up from daycare and coming home, I feel so much better if I unpack my lunch box, pump parts/bottles, Nathan's diaper bag first thing.  After I put them all away my mind feels like there's one less thing to do and I can focus all my energy on Nathan. 

3. Turn your phone off or hide it.  Staying "hands-free" is hard but a must when I want to give Nathan all of my attention.  I'm on my email all day, so taking a break for a couple hours won't make the world stop.  Nathan goes to bed at 7pm so I only get a couple hours with him in the afternoon so I have to make them count! 

4. Plan and easy Crock Pot recipe a week.  This week our meal plans have been simple yet delicious and filling.  One night we had Eat Live Run's Green Chicken Curry with quinoa.  Sunday is my prep day, so I chopped all of the veggies and made the sauce ahead of time.  Done and done!  

5. Give yourself grace upon grace upon grace.  Becoming a mother made me clearly see what exactly grace was, and as I continue on this journey I'm realizing that I need to learn how to give myself more grace than I ever imagined.  This means not beating myself up if I don't get to the floors that night, if the laundry remains unfolded, if the mail I need to send still sits on our table, if Nathan and I haven't read a book in a week, if I choose to sit and have a glass of wine with Daniel instead of doing work.  Grace.  Thank goodness for grace! 

These things are small and I'm sure my list will continue to grow.  Staying focused on what is working versus what isn't is powerful and healing.  Stay strong mamas!!