We Heart FL: Ybor City Part One

Yesterday we were extremely fortunate to experience some beautiful Florida weather for Danny's day off! We didn't waste any time and decided to take the kids for a stroll through the historic Ybor City. For those of you who are not familiar with Ybor City, it is a celebrated part of Tampa that is filled with Hispanic culture. It is actually considered a land mark that attracts tourists daily. And yes...I felt like a tacky tourist with my Canon in Ybor (which is in my hometown), but it's such an amazing place to get some great photos of the kiddos!

Anywho, we decided to stop at the renowned Gaspar's Grotto for lunch. They have a great patio which works out nicely when you are dining with a toddler and an 11 month old!  Danny and I like to think of ourselves as conch fritter connoisseurs so we had to try them. And they were pretty amazing-some of the best we've ever had!

The kids are beginning to do well with going out to eat as long as we keep it timely...

We even had time to squeeze in a little shopping after lunch...and of course, the boys stayed outside.

Sienna told me that she likes shopping, "very very much!" 

A girl after my own heart...

Stay tuned for part two of our fun adventures with "les deux" in Ybor City!

Valentine's Day Recap!

Well Valentine's Day came and went and we had an action packed day full of arts and crafts, cookies, and multiple photo shoot attempts. I had a ton planned for the special day, but with the kids getting over a week-long stomach bug we were left scrambling, but never bored :)

Danny was at work all day, but the kids woke up to heart shaped French toast and new tableware. It took Daniel a whole twenty seconds to figure out how to use a straw and there's no turning back now...I sometimes forget he will be a year old in two months...sniff...

Sienna worked on her valentines and colored in her new Dora coloring book for most of the morning...(thanks again Target dollar spot)! And after naps I attempted to do my super last minute 'We heart daddy' photo montage...which failed....miserably....

By the time I bribed Sienna into having a piece of chocolate to take a halfway decent picture it was already six o' clock and there was no way I could hit up the local Walgreen's to have them printed. I searched high and low and found two pieces of photo paper and tried to print them at home...which was another epic fail...sigh...so maybe by Father's Day we can have them done!


Daniel has this new thing where he loooves to pull everything out of every cabinet or toy bucket as soon as I put it all away...I tried really hard all day to keep the house tidy so Danny could come home to a clean house, but by seven o' clock and Daniel ripping apart my pantry for the ninth time that day I gave up...

After baths I set the table, lit a candle, opened a bottle of wine and Danny came home with Carrabbas take out!! We exchanged cards, had American Idol on in the background, and enjoyed our dinner with each of us holding a baby on our lap :)

Ohhhh how times have changed, but I wouldn't change our "life with les deux" for the world...


                     

DIY Mustache Heart Shirt

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I have been planning on getting the kiddos some cute finds to wear on the day of love! As you see here, there are so many cute choices out there! I got Sienna this shirt from H&M and as of two days ago I still hadn't gotten anything for Daniel! Both of the kids have been battling the stomach bug this week and I really didn't have much time to shop so I decided to DIY it!

I was inspired by a guest post that one of my favorite blogs, Small Fry, did on the blog Honestly (the blog for Jessica Alba's line of natural and eco-friendly products, The Honest Company). They did DIY heart sweatshirts that allowed the kids to partake! I thought this would be perfect because Sienna loves to paint and it uses a stencil so she could easily help out! I changed it up a little bit and used a white tee since the weather has been in the mid 80's here every day! If you read one of my previous posts, you may have noticed that I have a little bit of a heart/mustache obsession so I was also inspired by the cute pajamas from Gap Kids. 

Here are the supplies you will need to create this: 

• a plain t-shirt
• scissors
• two sheets of computer paper
• red fabric paint
• black fabric paint
• white fabric paint
• a sponge brush
• clothes pins or tape to hold down the heart stencil
• a mustache image to cut out or trace
• small paint brushes for the mustache and eyes

 
I had everything except the white tee which I found at Target on clearance for $2.50...Score!!! I then got a piece of paper and cut a heart into it. Next I wrapped the shirt around a magazine so it would be centered and pinned it down with clothespins as well as pressed some double wrapped tape on the back. Then Sienna could start painting and boy did she love it!

Once the kids were in bed I traced a mustache image off the iPad...

 and then used this stencil to create the mustache on the shirt and voila!!

You can decorate it with some eyes or just leave it plain...either way it is super cute! And the best part of all is this whole project only took about 30 minutes in total and cost $2.50!! You can't beat that!! I think I definitely might start DIY'n holiday outfits for the kids! It’s fun for everyone and it comes from the heart :)

Thank You Target Dollar Spot!

Today I had to make a minor pit stop to the beloved Target to pick up some Pedialyte because my entire family (except for me...fingers crossed) has been bit by the stomach bug! I've never experienced something like this before and hopefully never will anytime soon so I am definitely having one of those 'I'm done having kids' days :)

Anywho, while I was at Target I of course was dragged into the dollar area because of all the cute Valentine's Day items they had! I love finding little trinkets to make Sienna baskets for the holidays and any other useful useless things I can find. They actually had a big Dora Rocks section so I grabbed way more items than I needed and was on my way to find more trouble. 
Sienna has really shown me how these terrible twos are supposed to work lately. And when you add her not feeling well to the mix,  it just makes things much worse. So once I got home from Target she started having a little meltdown and I was trying to take care of Daniel who really wasn't feeling well. I was in mayday mode trying to figure out what I could pull out and knew I had to go into the Valentine's Day bag of items just purchased....and whatdoyaknow! She's a different person! She loves her mommy and is so excited about the  Dora markers and notepad her amazing mommy just gave her!

So thank you Target Dollar Spot! You've inspired me to purchase lots of little knick-knacks that I can use in these 'need help' moments and other times as well! There are so many fun things! These markers and notepad cost me a whopping $2!!! That $2 bought me three different tantrum turnarounds today...best $2 ever spent!
Oh and by the way, while I was roaming through Target I just had to stop in the storage section (which is probably how I forgot the detergent I also needed) and came across some fabulous finds for one of my 'Organize My Life' projects so please stay tuned :)