attitude is everything

May 6, 2013April 6, 20201 Comment

We’re fighting seasonal allergies around here.

Mine start in March, and start to clear up about now, but the kids are having a rough go of it right now.

Lorelai and I were up at 2:30 am…and haven’t been back to sleep (she slept for 20 minutes right around 6 am).

I was throwing myself a pity party this morning.

I don’t do well without sleep.

I was in tears this morning…feeling sorry for myself.

It didn’t feel good.

So, I decided to change my attitude.

Not always an easy task, but it can be done.

The kids and I went to school and gave Reece’s teachers a gift for Teacher Appreciation Week.

(i will blog about it later this week, but until then you can check out what we did the last two years here and here)

Both of his teachers said they had had rough mornings and that the gift helped them to feel better.

Spread kindness.

I realized that in the hurry to get out the door we forgot Reece’s lunch.

I texted Ryan, and he offered to drop it off at the school.

Accept help.

Lorelai and I went for a run down to the river. The endorphins and vitamin D surely helped to boost my mood. In addition listening to a little Maroon 5 and Adam Levine helped push me harder…I ran 3.75 miles the longest I have run in over a year.

Get outside.

Get moving.

So, I’m still tired, but my mood is better.

Attitude is everything.

Our weekend was pretty awesome.

The weather in the Pacific Northwest has been amazing the last week.

We centered our actvities around being outdoors…

the Kentucky Derby…

and Cinco de Mayo…

When all was said and done, we had tired kiddos.

When Lorelai and I got home from our run, she picked a flower from our garden for me.

I could really be Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail…

Kathleen Kelly: I love daisies.

Joe Fox: You told me.

Kathleen Kelly: They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?

home is…turning a frown upside down.

{inspired} you are strong

May 2, 20133 Comments

I’ve been inspired by some recent posts about running from some of my favorite bloggers out there…

Meg wrote about running her first half marathon.

Nici wrote a guest post over at Kelle’s blog about battling an eating disorder and running.

Maggie wrote about her relationship with running.

In addition, a local momma who used to push me to my limits in her Stroller Strides classes wrote about her experience at the Boston Marathon and shared her story with her facebook friends…she was right near the finish line as the bombs went off…and, luckily, is home safe.

my running story

The past two springs were tough on my health for one reason or another, so my exercise and running routines got set on the back burner.

I found plenty of other things to fill my time (thrifting, etsy, decorating our home, sewing, creating)…and my belly. Almost 10 pounds heavier, I’ve decided it’s time to get back into shape.

So, I’ve started running again.

When I can, I run a quick route down to the park with Odyssey. He loves it. I love it. And, it does both of us a lot of good.

This week I had missed my runs with Odyssey with kids being home from school sick, and Ryan out of town. The weather today was much too beautiful to run on a treadmill indoors, but I was itching to go for a run.

Not just itching, CRAVING it.

I NEEDED to go for a run.

I thought about Nici’s post and I pulled the BOB dualie out of the back of the car (where it’s been riding around for months) and pumped up the tires.

Lorelai hopped in and off we went!

Long story short, I ran farther and longer than I have in a LONG time.

An older woman running the older direction said, “Wow! You are strong!”

And, I crossed paths with another momma friend, who is also a runner, and has put together a fundraising race in the very park we were running in…go check out the foundation website and the race facebook page…and sign up to run with me (I will be running the 10K).

I run because I like to.

It feels good physically (when I run…maybe not so much afterwards).

It feels good emotionally.

I can do it alone.

I can share it with friends.

I can share it with my dog.

I can share it with my little girl.

And, it doesn’t hurt to hear people say, “Wow! You are strong!”

my very first running inspiration

You know who it is?

My sister.

She was always faster than me.

A better athlete than me.

It was like she didn’t even have to try and she learned to do hard things…like back flips.

She never took gymnastics.

When we were in college she worked at a running shoe store.

She ran 1/2 marathons before I had any idea what a 1/2 marathon was.

She ran in the snow.

She ran in the rain.

She ran to places in Boulder I didn’t know existed!

I had no interest in running.

She asked me to go, but I rarely did.

One of these days, I hope that my sister and I can run a race together.

I’m not into running for more than 1 hour at a time, so I like 10k’s, but I might run a 1/2 marathon if she would run one with me!

and a winner…

Thank you all so much for leaving a comment. So fun to read what you would or would not change. Seems that most of us were happy with our special day! Life is good!

The winner of the $50 minted.com credit is tara (@etsetara)!

Please send me an e-mail at homeis{at}stephanytaddeo{dot}com so I can get you your prize!

home is…running inspiration.

wouldn’t change a thing…maybe

April 28, 201311 Comments

My husband and I are way past the newlywed phase.

This October we will have been married 13 years.

If I had it to do all over again I wouldn’t change a lot, but the options for personalization and making your wedding YOURS are truly endless.

Just a quick search on Pinterest will give you all kinds of DIY wedding ideas, tutorials, and inspiring photos.

When we were planning our wedding I thought we were stepping waaaay out of the box by sending our save the date as a newsletter with stories about how we met, etc, our rehearsal dinner invitations on post cards, and {gasp} square wedding invites!

For instance, have you visited Minted, yet?

They have some of the most amazing invites designed by independent designers.

I might have chosen something like this…

or this…

or, maybe this…

No matter what, there is definitely more to choose from!

Not only does Minted.com offer beautiful invites, but you can also view customer- and designer-created inspiration boards.

For weddings…

Northwest Media Photography board by Jenny. See more Minted.com

…babies…

Nesting Bird board by fatfatin. See more baby shower invitations on Minted

…home…

…and holidays.

Holiday Card board by Lauren. See more Minted

In fact, we ordered our Christmas cards from Minted last year!

And, wouldn’t you know it, we sent out a post card!

how about a giveaway?

Minted would like to give one of you $50 towards a Minted purchase!

To enter, answer one of the following questions as a comment:

If you could change one thing about your wedding what would it be?

or

If you are dreaming about, or planning a wedding, what is one of the must haves for your special day?

Deadline is Wednesday, May 1st at 9pm Pacific.

Winner will be announced on Thursday, May 2nd!

home is…time flies when you’re having fun.

pfabulous photography

April 23, 20132 Comments

We had a family photo mini session on Sunday evening with a local portland momma and fabulous photographer, Jenn, of Pfaus Photography.

We met through Instagram, and when I saw that she was doing mini-sessions I signed up.

We have not had professional family photos taken in three years, so it was time.

Here are a few preview photos…

home is…pfamily photos.

{milestones} a visit from the tooth fairy

April 3, 2013April 6, 20207 Comments

Reece has been working on a loose tooth for a few weeks now.

Last week it started hanging by a thread.

I was sure that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy would bump into eachother at our house on Saturday night.

Once the tooth was really wiggly, Reece didn’t want it to fall out.

Yesterday, on his way in from the car after he was picked up from school, he pulled the tooth out.

He came inside, excited, but also a little sad.

He didn’t want to pull his tooth out.

I had ordered some adorable tooth pillows from a local Portland mom who has a fabulous etsy shop…go check it out!

We made a tiny little envelope to put his tooth in and put it in the little pocket for the Tooth Fairy.

This morning, we found that she left a tiny little note, one dollar, and some fairy dust on Reece’s pillow.

We got ready for school as usual and, as I do every Wednesday morning, I asked Reece what he would like to take for sharing.

I thought for sure that he would want to take his pillow with the fairy dust and note to school for sharing, but he ran upstairs crying and said he didn’t want to go to school.

After finally getting the kids into the car and on our way to school, I asked Reece why he was so upset.

He told me that he really didn’t want to lose his tooth.

He didn’t want to share what he got from the tooth fairy.

He didn’t want to talk about it at school.

He wanted me to tell his teacher and ask her not to mention it.

So, I did.

It’s almost like he is mourning the loss of his tooth.

He is such a sensitive kid sometimes.

I love that about him.

home is…mourning the loss of a tooth.

staycation

March 25, 2013April 6, 20202 Comments

It’s spring break, and spring is officially here in the Pacific Northwest.

A lazy morning felt good. We had no plans for the day.

Eventually we got ourselves moving and…

Spun spiderwebs of yarn around the house that eventually turned themselves into laser beam security systems for playing spy.

Lorelai took off riding her bike over the weekend…pedaling by herself. So, while I spent 40 minutes cleaning up the yarn, the kids rode circles around the garage making up all sorts of racing/going to the store/going to school games.

We took a drive to pick up the newest addition to my latest collection addiction…vintage typewriters.

I got some happy mail from and instagram friend…there is a special corner of our home filled with special things from friends all over the country who I have never met.

We colored eggs…for the first time this week…I have a feeling we will be eating lots of egg salad.

The kids watched a movie after picking out flowers and making cards for their favorite neighbor who celebrates a birthday today.

The best thing…without any grand plans or extraordinary adventures Reece has already declared this “the best day of spring break ever”.

It doesn’t take much more than spending time with them to make them happy.

home is…a staycation.

{hello friday} 3.22.2013

March 22, 20132 Comments

As I sat down to write this at my kitchen counter I heard a loud thump and saw something falling out of a tree in my periferal vision out my kitchen window.

It happens all the time, but this was LOUD.

I went to the back door and did not see any large branches, but upon further inspection saw a squirrel hunched down under our table.

He seriously had to drop about 30-40 feet out of the trees.

I opened the door to try to sneak out to get Odyssey, but the squirrel came to and ran over to a tree and over the fence.

Man talk about getting back up after taking a big fall.

Anyway…

We are officially on Spring Break around here.

What does that mean?

Not much, just that the kids are out of school.

We’ll probably be doing a lot of the same things we did this week…

cleaning up messes…

i call her cinderlola now.

two little monkeys…

they listen to skidamarink on repeat and keep jumping.

i would like to LAY around…

but we will probably need to add the P back in PLAY.

boxes are magical…

hf 3.22.13 1

but probably won’t get us through the week.

mom will need to do…

hf 3.22.13 4

some thrifting to keep my sanity.

without kids…

because Nana is coming to visit.

home is…spring break.

beat, but not beaten

March 20, 2013April 6, 20202 Comments

I just ready Kelle’s post.

So thankful to be reminded that it’s ok to have some balls on the floor.

Like blog posts…

While not at the top of my priority list, I do have a bunch of posts written in my head, but by the time I have a moment to sit down with my thoughts I am beat.

And, exercise…

I want to start up my exercise routine and lose the ten extra pounds I am carrying around, but my little girl screams and throws a ten minute tantrum every time I mention the name of our health club.

Yesterday…

I was the mom at kindergarten pick up whose kid hit her in the head three times and told her that he hates her in front of all the other moms, kids, and the teacher.

Yeah, that was awesome.

Today…

We were on time to get out the door to school. You see, my kindergartener does NOT like to be late and have to walk into circle time by himself. So, I try extra hard to get to school ON TIME so he does not feel bad. We left the neighborhood on our usual route and there was a train STOPPED on the tracks. I backed up and took an alternate route which had a blocked intersection due to an accident.

TRAIN.

WRECK.

That’s how I was feeling.

Somehow, we made it to school and the little guy was not late for circle.

I reminded his teacher that I would be picking him up early from school to get to the dentist.

She said she remembered. She also,politely and quietly, said, “I hope you were able to deal with that situation yesterday. If you need me to say something to him I would be happy to. That is never acceptable behavior.”

Oh, how I needed to hear that.

I broke down into tears. We hugged. I asked for her help. She said I could always talk to her…anytime.

I cried the entire way home.

I needed that cry.

I am blessed by the people who are in my life and know exactly what I need and when I need it.

I needed her to see the little guy, who is normally thoughtful and caring at school, act out.

I am thankful for that moment.

I’m still beat, but not beaten.

So, how about some pictures from the last 10 days…

Happy Spring!

home is…sometimes even good intentions get wonky.

color my world valentines and a giveaway

February 11, 201315 Comments

Valentine’s Day is this week, and while I feel it is a bit of an over rated holiday (we SHOULD love our loved ones EVERYDAY) I still decorate for it and get excited about it.

More for my kiddos than anything else.

I wanted to go ALL OUT for Reece’s first Valentine’s party at preschool when he was 3, but held back because he was only in preschool.

Not to mention, I was an exhausted mom of a 3-1/2 and 1-1/2 year old and could only handle buying what was cheapest at the dollar store (is there such a thing?!) and MAYBE sign his name.

Last year, same story different year.

Although, I think I made HIM sign his name.

This year, I decided to do something fun!

Around here we are fans of maps and color, so I decided to combine the two…