Our First Travels With Les Deux

Hey ya'll! I know it's been pretty quiet around here, but we just stepped off of a little vacation with les deux. We went to Virginia for a wedding then spent two nights in Washington D.C.. Our itinerary was jam-packed  and I barely had time to breathe, let alone blog. This was the first plane ride for the littles and all I can say is we are glad to be home :) As much work as it was to take this trip, I really am glad we were able to make memories while traveling. 
Stay tuned for some posts about our trip, but here are some sneak peeks for now...

I did a stroller shot of les deux along the National Mall :)

Some post wedding ceremony adventures at the beautiful barn and winery!

and of course a little cupcake love (please excuse the rainy day hair)

We Heart Hotel Tonight

About a year ago I stumbled across an app called Hotel Tonight, downloaded it, then paid it no attention until about six months later. Little did I know what a gem of an app it was! Here's the skinny on it: Every day at noon the app populates all of the current hotels that are available to book for that same night at an exceptional rate. The catch is you have to book it for the same night, hence the name, Hotel Tonight. There are certain hotels that allow you to book multiple nights if you would like to stay somewhere for a longer period of time. The hotels also change daily so you can't really plan to book a hotel that was on the app the day before because it's a mystery if it's going to be there the next day. 

Basically this app is for someone who loves to live a little on the wild side. Perfect for a family with two babies two and under, right? Right! We have used this app close to ten times since we discovered it and love every minute of it. We usually use the app to book a room at the beach so it's like a mini vacation. We've also used it in Orlando where Danny had a work conference and we switched hotels the second night to be closer to Downtown Disney. 

This past week we booked a stay at the Tradewinds Guy Harvey Outpost (our favorite local getaway)  through Hotel Tonight:

Traveling spontaneously with the littles really can be fun and all of this Hotel Tonighting has prepped us for all our big travel plans :) 

Click here to see some more photos from our stay.

Please Don't Grow...

Danny happened to get two consecutive days off this week so we did what any Floridian would do and went to the beach! It's days like these that we are so grateful to have the beach as our backyard :) Before dinner we let the kids run around in a grassy area and I of course went picture happy.

They are so flippin' cute at this age and I am really trying to soak in every.single.moment. Sienna is already a little person and every day I'm amazed at what comes out of her mouth. Daniel is still a little baby and is quickly turning into a little man. Every day I squeeze him because I know it's the last day he will be that small...

Days like these make me want to have more babies (because I literally go back and forth every day of my life)...then we took them to a late dinner and had a double baby meltdown and had to take both of our dinners to go. I mean what were we really thinking letting them run around and wear themselves out before dinner?

Here are some special moments I captured...

 

Dont ask me what she's doing...^^

And but of course...how could we not try for the self timer shot?  I think we are starting to get the hang of it compared to this one.  Love our life with les deux :) Daniel: Shirt and shoes are from H&M//Shorts from Target Sienna: Shirt from H&M//Salt Water Sandals//Skirt: Unknown-was a gift

Traveling With the Kiddos!

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I can honestly say that I probably have every vacation from now until my children are eighteen years of age planned out. I love vacationing and I want to do a lot of it with the kiddos! Since we live in Florida we have the beach in our backyard, but my family has been doing beach vacations all my life.

This summer I want to take the babies on their first plane trip. I figured we should at least take advantage of flying one of the children for free before Daniel turns two. We are still in the works of planning things, but we are leaning toward Puerto Rico with the grandparents!

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It seems like the best pick because a) the plane ride is fairly short (2.5hours), b) my dad lived there for many years so it is familiar territory, and c) we get a tropical vacation without having to do the passport thing just yet! So I'm hoping it all works out.

Now I really really REALLY want to take kids to the Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos! If you know me well you know I've been talking about this vacation since before the kids were born, but I want to do this one with friends who also have children.

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The resort is an all-inclusive paradise with Sesame Street characters running around...yes it's perfection! And there are plenty more vacations I have planned like the Florida Keys, a European cruise,Hawaii, California, NYC, blah blah blah :) I guess I need to work on that job eh?

While researching some tips on traveling with kids I found this handy little contraption... 

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We will definitely be ordering these! It has five stars on Amazon which is comparable to Madonna telling me it's her favorite product!

Do you have any tips on traveling with the littles?

Mommy Must-Haves

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Leaving the house with the kiddos is definitely one of the biggest challenges of life with les deux. As hard as it is wrestling them to stay in the stroller, feeding them on the go, and double diaper changes at any given moment, there is definitely something freeing about being in the outside world and not being cooped up in the house! Maybe it's because life feels a little more normal. On a side note to all the mommies out there, if you have a choice between two malls, pick the one with a Nordstrom because their little mommy lounge has been my saving grace these past two years...the fabulous shopping helps too!
Anywho, I've compiled a list of some of my mommy must-haves that I can't leave home without.... 5. My shopping cart/high chair cover: being that I am a huge germophobe (see image #3), this little cover comes in quite handy especially at the grocery store! Keeps the little ones from putting their hands and mouths on the dirty cart. This isn't the actual one I own because I am in the market for a new one, but I'm hoping Balboa makes a black and white one like this to match my nursing cover :) 4. My Ergo Baby Carrier: this has been another saving grace with the two little ones! I usually use it combined with the shopping cart cover if I have them both at a store that has shopping carts (Yes I am that crazy woman you see juggling babies, a shopping list, and coupons at the grocery store-thank goodness for cookies & balloons). 3. Babyganics Hand Sanitizer: this is a must when out with the kids! Once again I despise germs and sick kids (proud owner of not one, but TWO humidifiers). Sienna also has sucked on her fingers since a young age so I have to have one without alcohol. Also the kids like it- Sienna thinks its really exciting to rub the disappearing foam in her hands! 2. My Timi & Leslie Diaper bag: I have been rockin this bag and purse since December of 2010 and it is still going strong! It's great because it comes with the stroller straps, bottle holder, changing pad, and and extra small purse! So I have been using it all for 2 years now because I refuse to carry two  big purses. It even looks cute so I don't feel like I am carrying a diaper bag! Don't worry though, mommy has definitely been eye-balling the rightfully deserved purse I will be getting once I hang up the old diaper bag ;) 1. And last, but not least my Bob Revolution Duallie Stroller: this deserves a blog post on it's own so I will keep it short, but this is a great stroller that has everything I need to be out with the babies! I use it if I want to go for jog, go to the mall, or even at the beach! It is amazing for when we visit theme parks as well!  So there ya have it! That's everything I have to have with me if I want to take the kids out! And yes, I've been stuck driving Danny's big SUV while he sports my cute VW CC...sigh...can't wait until the umbrella stroller days!