Conquering the Laundry Pile + Laundry Service Giveaway!

Laundry...the dreaded chore that can never be completed. I loathe the laundry. In fact, I'd rather give up French Fries for life than have to locate all of the dirty socks and wet towels strewn throughout the house. I'd rather take 10 toddlers to the DMV over sorting all the clothes into piles. I'd rather walk barefoot through glass over washing, drying, folding and putting away all the laundry. It just never ceases to amaze me how much laundry we accumulate throughout the week -- you would think 25 people live with us. And since our schedules are too hectic during the week, we are limited to the weekends to getting it done in between meal planning, grocery shopping, errands, soccer games, birthday parties, church and more. And trust me, I've tried to break it up into multiple loads throughout the week to keep the loads manageable, but it never fails that I am collapsing into bed just as the washer dings and am too exhausted to get up and switch it over, resulting in the same load getting washed again and again and again before it actually makes it to the dryer.

And you know the other task that haunts me? Dry cleaning, which normally sits in my car for at least 2 weeks before I get around to dropping it off...and then forget about it for 3 months.

So until I can pay Caroline an allowance to fold all the fitted sheets, I'll treat myself to throwing in the towel every now and then and outsourcing a few loads of laundry. That's where 2ULaundry comes in to save our weekend by giving us more time to do things we actually love to do.

HOW IT WORKS

STEP 1 // Create an account: Customize your cleaning preference, select your bags and schedule a pickup.

STEP 2 // Receive Your Bags: The following day your free personal garment bags are hand delivered by 6 pm.

STEP 3 // Stuff Your bags & Set Them Outside for Pickup 

Just kidding. They won't clean your kids, although I would pay extra for that. Stuff your bags with all the items you especially hate to wash/dry clean (fitted sheets, dress clothes, winter coats, etc.) and set them outside your scheduled pickup location by 8 am. You'll receive a text when your driver picks them up. The bags are scanned and tracked to ensure quality assurance.

STEP 4 // Laundry Picked Up. At the cleaning facility, the garments are scanned, sorted, itemized and cleaned according to your customized instructions.

STEP 5 // Clean Laundry Delivered! The next business day, your garment bags are scanned into the system, labeled as clean and returned to you by 6pm. You receive a text once they’re dropped off fresh and clean.

PRICING

The pricing is determined by your zip code, but to give you a ball park estimate I am sharing my rates.

Large Blue Bag (Wash, Dry, Fold): Holds up to 35 lbs or 4-5 loads of laundry and is $35 per pickup.

Pink Bag (Wash & Hang Dry): Holds up to 8-10 lbs or 1 load and is $10 per pickup.


Dry cleaning is priced per item. The prices are a little higher than my dry cleaner down the street, but the convenience is totally worth it and gives me hours of my weekend back to spend with my family. This is actually Matt's favorite service since he is the main culprit of our piles of dry cleaning. He is obsessed with the one day turn around so he can wear his favorite shirts more often.

MY HONEST REVIEW

I was super impressed by the one day turnaround, the cleanliness, the perfect folding of our clothes (including the fitted sheets I tossed in there), the customization options (detergents, etc.) the ease of scheduling, reminders and status updates (done through texts) and the friendliness of my driver. Overall, this company has seriously nailed the concept and their process.

Would I recommend this service to others? Definitely. I especially recommend this service as your next baby shower gift for your new mama friend. Or your co-worker, friend, family member, etc. who needs some extra help.

Will I use this service again? Yes, especially for our dry-cleaning and all my pesky wash & hang items I rarely wash (I'm looking at you - work dresses)! Oh, and I love treating myself to this service when we've been out of town for the weekend and return home with suitcases of dirty clothes and no time to clean them. I can dump them all into bags on Sunday night, they're picked up the next morning and returned cleaned and folded the following day.

GIVEAWAY

And now for the best giveaway EVER. My friends at 2ULaundry have graciously offered to give away ONE MONTH OF LAUNDRY (4 large bags of wash, dry, fold) which is about a $140 value, to one lucky reader! Enter using the rafflecopter below. The contest will run through Feb. 26 and the winner will be picked at random and announced back here on Feb. 27! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to try 2ULaundry now? Click here to save $20 off your first laundry or dry cleaning order.

 

This post is sponsored by my friends at 2U Laundry. All opinions are my own.

5 Tips for Two Under Two

One of the most requested topics I regularly receive from readers is how we managed two kids under two years old. It's taken me forever to write this post because truthfully I have no idea how we did it. It was such a blur. Our first year with two kids 14 months apart was our hardest and most exhausting year ever, especially with Thomas’ eyes. It was a year filled with coffee, tears, wine, lessons learned and lots of snuggles. Parenting is hard. And to be honest, we are still in the trenches. Although we no longer feel like we’re drowning in spit up, blowouts and doctor’s appointments, the survival mode and challenges are different now (hello toddler sass, tantrums, nightmares, etc.!). But you know what? I would do it again and again a million times over. And I wouldn’t trade our age gap for anything.

So at your request, I thought I'd share the top 5 things I've learned that helped us survive (and continue to survive) two insane little people who have endless energy. 

Disclaimer: Even though I've been doing this mommy thing for a little over three years now, I still have no clue what I’m doing most days so take ALL this with a grain of salt! Seriously.

5 Tips for Surviving Two Under Two

1. Surrender expectations and learn to let stuff go. It took me awhile to give myself grace but once I did our world changed for the better. For me, that means being fine with serving cereal for dinner...several nights in a row, handing the iPad over to decompress in another room, leaving dishes in the sink overnight and allowing the stacks of laundry to pile up on the dining room table. It also sometimes means sometimes missing daycare events due to work travel, bringing store bought cookies to the bake sale, forgetting water play day clothes and not attending every classmate's birthday party. I had to learn the hard way that I just can't do it all. And that is OK.

2. Find your mom tribe. I honestly couldn't imagine going through mommyhood without my best mom friends, especially the more seasoned ones who have "been there, done that" and always know the best remedy for diaper rash, the trick to hiding vegetables in meals, potty training advice and more, like way more. I've leaned on them during my toughest parenting days and celebrated the victories together too. But what is most fulfilling is having their kids grow up together with mine. Over countless kid & parent play dates I have watched friendships grow not only between our children but our husbands too. And there is nothing cooler than that! Find a community that will lift you up, let you vent and encourage you when the days are hard.

3. Get outside. Fresh air work wonders for me when I'm feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, have run out of patience or can't stand to hear one more episode of Caillou. Even when we're not in the mood to go outside or the task of getting the kids out of the door seems daunting, we power through. And 99% of the time we are thankful we did. This can be a walk down the street, a trip to the playground or even just opening the backdoor and letting the kids go wild with water balloons while relaxing for 3 minutes in a lawn chair.

4. Splurge on a nice concealer. Seriously, you've earned it. If you don't already use it, you need to buy this magical NARS concealer (color: vanilla). It's creamy, smooth and can cover even the darkest under eye circles.  

5. Be Nice To Your Husband & Put Your Marriage First. I saved my #1 tip for last -- another lesson learned the hard way. There will be plenty of grumpy mornings when you're both running off just a few hours of sleep for days on end. Having even a three minute uninterrupted adult conversation over two screaming toddlers is near to impossible. Spending quality time alone together seems like a distant memory and at times it may even feel like you've forgotten about one another. If you don't have family nearby, find a great babysitter. And use her often. Carve out date nights and even overnight trips. I know it's not inexpensive and the cost adds up quickly, but it's your marriage -- invest in it because it's worth it.

Related posts you may like: 

Surviving Double Little Persons (The First Week)

5 Years (A Revised Wedding Day Letter)

New Years Marriage Resolution

At Home Date Nights & Favorite Games

A Day In Our Life | July 2017

Today I'm tackling one of my most requested topics -- a day in our life! I do really love these types of posts and I know I'll enjoy looking back on them one day with rose colored glasses when we're empty nested. You know, when dress up clothes strewn across the floor are replaced with vacuum lines, when our furniture doesn't live under blankets in fear of ketchup hands, when 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep is our standard not a luxury, and when our favorite little people no longer need us to help them fill their sippy cup, wipe their bummy, buckle their seat belts, kiss away boo boos, bathe them and tuck them into bed. Ah, yes, I will miss these days -- I'm sure of it. But until then, let's take a peek into our daily chaos that most definitely includes lots of shared parenting duties, a flexible job, a rock star daycare and is fueled by coffee and wine.

Oh, and also, instead of taking pictures this time for my documentary, I decided to film a short iMovie of clips instead, which took me over a month to record + compile! So if you want to watch the three minute video of our day, I promise it's way more fun and adorable than reading through the following timeline...

6:30 am: From the top of the stairs we can hear Caroline loudly and I mean loudly whispering "Mommy? Daddy? Are you awake?" which we will acknowledge by waving good morning and whisper back for her to go play for a bit. She runs off to play and Matt hops out of bed and into the shower. I scroll through Instagram, check emails and read a few blogs. 

6:45 am: I hop out of bed, pour us some coffee and start getting ready. In the bathroom, Matt and I compare our schedules for the day. Halfway into my makeup routine I can hear over the monitor that Caroline is up to no good. I check the monitor and sure enough she has pushed her art easel into Thomas' room to use as a step stool to catapult herself into his crib to wake him up and play with him. And so we start getting ready faster. 

7 am: Thomas is starving (he wakes up ravenous) so one of us goes upstairs to get both kids out of his crib and change the little man's diaper. Today it's me, but usually it's Matt so I can keep getting ready. Caroline requests that I check out her poopy in the potty from earlier that morning (can I get an amen on this stage?!) and on my way into the bathroom I almost break my neck on the bottle of soap she pumped out all over the floor which she claims was to "help clean" after washing her hands. 

7:15 am: Kids pile into our bed and watch an episode of Paw Patrol while we finish getting ready for work. 

7:30 am: Matt and I are dressed and ready...time to tackle the kids. We usually tag team getting the kids dressed, teeth brushed and lathered in sunscreen. 

7:55 am: If we're in a hurry to get to the office we toss the kids straight into my car with an on-the-go breakfast (granola bar, banana, bagel, applesauce pouch, etc.). If we aren't rushed I usually give them a quick breakfast while I finish my coffee and fry up a quick egg sandwich to take to the office. This morning I also throw dinner in the crock pot so it's ready when we arrive home. 

8:10-8:15 am: Kisses and hugs for daddy and we are off to daycare! I take the kids to school most mornings since I can get a little bit of a later start than Matt. 

8:15 am: Arrive at daycare. The kids fight over who gets to beep us in with the key fob. Scrub in at the hand washing station. Race to class. Caroline likes to drop off Thomas first so she can give him a hug and kiss before running out the door to her class (this is one of my favorite moments of every day!!). Drop Caroline off in her class with lots of hugs and kisses. 

8:35 am: Stop at Brueggers to fill my mug with coconut coffee. 

8:40 am: Hit the road if I'm traveling or head to office. 

9 am - 4:45 pm: Typical work day for me: meetings, meetings, meetings, conference calls, run out for coffee refill, eat lunch at desk or out with a friend, emergency run to Target for more diapers for Thomas, emails, emails, emails. 

5:15 pm: I arrive home and whip up something for the kids to eat and begin prepping dinner for me and Matt as well. 

6:20 pm: Daddy has scooped the kids up and taken them to their school library to pick out books for bedtime tonight and return yesterday's books. (He is way more fun at pickup than me). 

6:25 pm: Beg and plead with the kids to eat their dinner. It's a 50/50 gamble whether they make a happy plate and receive a marshmallow. (NOT above bribery here!) We sit down with the kids while they eat but we don't eat our dinner usually until after they go to bed. 

6:40 pm: Go for a walk, play in the driveway or inside for a little before its time for bath.

7:00 pm: Begin bath time routine. Both kids are bathed together. Teeth brushed. Dressed in jammies. I rock Thomas to sleep with lots of songs and Matt tucks Caroline in over many books, stories, songs, kisses, requests (water, potty, socks, retrieve missing stuffed animals, etc. etc. etc.) 

7:30 pm: While Matt finishes up the marathon bedtime routine for Caroline I finish preparing our dinner. 

7:45 pm: We eat together, clean up the kitchen, pack lunches, refill backpacks, prep coffee for next morning, etc. 

8:00 pm: Matt will usually jump into bed and fire up his laptop to tackle a little more work depending on how crazy his day was. I soak in the bath tub and scroll through ALL the social media and blogs I need to catch up on. 

8:30-9: Join Matt in bed. Knock out a blog post while watching an episode of whatever DVR'd show we can agree on. Tonight I win (actually, I usually win)...and it's a two hour episode of Dateline -- my favorite!

10-11 pm: I pass out and Matt stays up to finish watching whatever we started. He rewatches everything at least twice because I fall asleep so fast and have to constantly catch up!

And that's the highlight reel of our typical day! Of course, I edited out all the tantrums and meltdowns so you didn't have to suffer through them with us.

Previous Day In The Life Posts A Day in the Working Mama Life | June 2016 (11 months & 2 yo) A Day in the Life of Maternity Leave | June 2014 (7 wks & 14 mo)

FAQ!

I promise to cover as many of the topics y'all requested in my recent reader poll soon. However, in the meantime to tide you over I thought I'd share some throwback posts that touch on a few highly requested topics: 

Thoughts on Being a Working Mama: A post on why I chose to return to the workforce after baby.

Breastfeeding Tips: I had one heck of a time with breastfeeding. It just didn't work out for me. However, I received SO many tips from readers that I compiled into an ultimate breastfeeding post for other mamas struggling with milk supply! 

Tips & Essentials for New Mamas: If you're a brand new mama, check out these tips!  

Favorite Homemade Baby Purees: Wow, this feels like forever ago, but a post on some of our very favorite baby purees!  

A Day in the Working Mama Life: A lot of our day still looks similar to a year ago but I am definitely excited to write a new DITL post now that the kids are older and my job has changed!
 
Balancing it All: A post on my best attempt to balance all of the balls in life -- work, kids, marriage, etc. I honestly still think this post 100% reflects our juggling act and would probably write all of this over again verbatim. However, I am working on a new post with tips for life with two under two! 

Toddler Meals: I loved this topic request and am working to document our meals recently to dump into a post soon. In the meantime, check out the comments on this post for other ideas! 

Surviving Double Little Persons: A peek into our first few weeks of life with two under two.

Toddler Milestones & Recent Funnies

So much has been going on in our little toddlers' lives recently that I wanted to make sure to catalog the highlights before I forget.

Caroline transitioned to a toddler bed! I had absolutely no intention of making this move until Caroline was either climbing out of her crib regularly or she was leaving for college. Matt on the other hand has been so anxious and excited to make this move. Anyway, I finally caved to Matt's regular requests to make the transition!

CGM at 27 months

In preparation for the first night of freedom Matt and Caroline unscrewed the front of the crib together while he explained the sticker reward system for staying in bed all night and not getting out until we come and get her. He also slipped a pool noodle under the sheet to prevent her from rolling out of bed. And added a door lock in the event she decided to roam the house at 2 am. Oh, and he secured all of her furniture to the wall.

I am shocked to report that Caroline has done pretty well with the transition and is obsessed with adding a sticker to the calendar each morning. Over the past six'ish weeks we've averaged one adventurous night per week that definitely does not end with a sticker. One morning we opened her door to an entire collection of Dr. Seuss books completely shredded. She even attempted to hide the scraps of evidence behind the crib. We also had to lock up all her drawers after the night she pulled our every diaper, every wipe and had a field day with the diaper cream. Oh, and she fell out of bed while sleeping once. But other than a few naughty nights here and there she has been sleeping soundly and is so proud of her bed and sticker chart!

Another huge milestone - Tom Tom is officially walking! Hallelujah! Caroline is so dang obsessed with him walking now too. She pulls him around everywhere like he is her baby doll.

TDM at 14 months

Also, can we please stop and reflect for one second that THIS is the exact age Caroline was when we brought Tom Tom home? HOLY MOLY.

Lastly, we said farewell to my beloved Snap & Go Stroller. We had been waiting to ditch Thomas's infant car seat until he began walking to upgrade him to the next car seat. Then unexpectedly the computer system went out in my car so my stroller is stuck in my trunk and I can't get to it. It only took me two days of trying to haul a 20+ pound baby in an infant carrier up a hill at daycare while also trying to hold on to Caroline, diapers and two backpacks before I said NOPE and rush shipped two Graco Contender 65 Car Seats to replace the infant system in both cars. Thomas loves his new seat!

And now, for some recent funnies...

After smuggling a pantiliner out of my bathroom drawer (and into the car)...

Caroline: Mommy I got a band-aid!

 

Why we can't buy nice things for our home. Or eat mashed sweet potatoes anymore.

House parties.

Trash pick up mornings are always such a highlight for the kids. Last week as the garbage truck drove by Caroline exclaimed "mommy! they picking up all the poopies [diapers]!"

Lessons Learned from Our Journey with an Unexpected Diagnosis

Today marks the one year anniversary of Thomas's surprise cataracts diagnosis. While I've posted many positive updates about our little man's miraculous progress over the 12 months, I can honestly say we've never endured a more difficult year. Admittedly, I have kept a very positive outlook on the blog since his diagnosis. However, behind the screen our family has gone through a rollercoaster of emotions: grief, hope, anger, devastation, confidence, anxiety, worry and more. 

There is nothing more terrifying than learning your child is among the .04% of babies born with an unexplainable diagnosis and the emergency medical decisions you are forced to make with no information or understanding. Then comes the whirlwind of frequent doctor visits, second opinions, third opinions, fourth opinions, late nights of obsessive researching, patching, eye drops, contacts, additional surgeries to prepare for and more. We are constantly worried about Thomas and his future despite the four opinions from doctors who predict he’ll live a normal life with some inconveniences and limitations.

I am fully aware that our circumstances could be much worse and there are many parents struggling and coping with cancer, wheelchairs, heart defects, premature babies, down syndrome and more. Unfortunately these devastating medical diagnoses are all too common and I honestly can’t imagine what these families are going through. However, a wise friend told me at the very beginning that just because my family isn’t struggling with a worse medical condition it doesn’t make our unique journey less significant or less difficult.

I hope and pray you don't ever need the advice from this post. However, over the past year I’ve received many emails from readers currently staring down the barrel of a scary medical diagnosis, many of which were unexpected, with their child, a child of a close friend, or family member. I am always deeply humbled when these readers reach out to me for advice, encouragement or inspiration. Oftentimes I’m truly at a loss to find words to bring comfort to parents struggling in their own battles but today I’m going to share some raw feelings and 3 of the biggest lessons we’ve experienced along the way so far.

But first, a huge hug to you if you’re on a difficult journey!

1. Expect Ups and Downs. Even though we have settled into our new normal, this journey still  drags us through some ridiculously low places at times. Receiving any sort of unexpected diagnosis, especially a rare condition (with very little research available), is devastating. Make sure to honor your feelings as they come. You will undoubtedly grieve. You will cry. You will be angry. You will be terrified. We've learned to take things day by day and mostly vacillate between ridiculous optimism and profound sadness. But, in time the shock began to fade and we now have more good days than bad. Also, Matt and I don’t always experience the same emotions simultaneously so it’s important to recognize when your spouse is struggling or spiraling down a rabbit hole of emotions. Additionally, for me Thomas's diagnosis came with a unique layer of mommy guilt too. I've been told over and over and over again that there is nothing we could have done to prevent congenital cataracts but I've spent my fair share of nights scouring the internet wondering what I did wrong during my pregnancy. 

2.  Trusting God’s Plan. I’ve always strived to live a joyful life and previously considered my faith unshakeable, using obstacles to spiritually strengthen my relationship with the Lord. However, there have been periods of time over the past year where I gave up talking to God. In fact, Matt and I even stopped attending church shortly after Thomas's diagnosis. It seemed insincere to choose faith and joy while actually crumbling in the inside. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told “God gives His toughest battles to His strongest soldiers.” While there may be some truth to that, trusting God’s plan and choosing joy takes time. Over the past year we've refocused our perspective to see the blessings in our journey -- Thomas is a strong, resilient little man, and he makes me a better and more empathetic mother. It is a hard calling but God has done us a favor because of the depth and perspective that we all now have because of our precious son. We are learning that our whole lives have been preparation for us to raise our sweet Thomas with all that entails. 

3. Ask Others to Pray on Your Behalf. During those times you can’t talk to God, ask your prayer warriors to help carry your burden through prayer. I am so blessed to have friends who routinely check in to let me know they are praying for Thomas, for me, for my family, for our doctors, for the next surgery, for the recoveries, for Thomas's future and more. These prayers have pried me out of some dark places and replenished my spiritual strength when I needed it most.

In conclusion, despite the pain and grief you may be facing as a result of unexpected news about someone you love so much, remember that every single day is a gift. You are prepared (more than you know) to be the parent of this amazing little person. And that amazing little person, and his/her siblings, are learning to be strong just by watching how you tackle the daily journey.

Hang in there dear friends. Easier said than done, I know. 

First Day of School!

Yesterday was Thomas and Caroline's first day of school in their new classes! Thomas moved up to the Young Toddlers class (Caroline's old class!) and Caroline moved up to the Twos class. Tear! 

The first day was a bit hectic as we were two hours late after noticing Thomas had lost a contact. We also missed "Parent Night" while we were on vacation so we had no clue where Caroline's new class was located. And we forgot diapers and wipes for both kids. Oh, and breakfast was already over and C's classroom was empty (we later found her friends on the playground) by the time we arrived. So yeah, not the smoothest first day of school but neither kid cried so I'll count it as a success!

In Thomas's new class he now sleeps on a mat which I always find incredibly impressive and he also no longer uses a paci. As for Caroline's class, the biggest change is the class size. There are 14 kids(!!!) in her class now which also blows my mind. I honestly cannot imagine chasing 14 toddlers around for 8 hours. 

Naturally, I snapped a few "first day of school" pics...

Caroline only snuck one contraband item past me into her backpack - my lip blam. Normally I wouldn't care but I'm down to my last pot (all of my others have strangely disappeared) of my favorite lip balm so I promptly slipped it back into my pocket when I discovered it while unpacking her bag at school. That girl, so sly. 

When the kiddos arrived home I asked Caroline what her favorite part of her first day was and she told me it was the pineapple she had for lunch.So I'd say we're off to a GREAT school year ahead!

Essential Daycare Items (our picks!): Backpacks // Sunscreen // Tennis Shoes //  Diapers // Wipes // Triple Paste (!!!) // Favorite Blankets

Previous Posts:

2015 First Day of School 

2014: Caroline's First Day of School