A Day at the Beach for Mommy

We are knee deep in summer and it seems like everyone is out at the beach every weekend enjoying this Florida weather! We don't frequent the beach as often as I'd  like since it involves a little more work and a lot more stuff when you have a one and two year old. 
Last time I was at the beach, the kiddos were taking a little siesta and I was able to sit on the edge of the ocean and unwind for a little bit. I've been daydreaming of having a mommy's day at the beach (sans the littles) so I felt inspired and wanted to share some must-haves if I ever get around to going...

Clockwise from the top: Sun Bum Sunscreen | Skinnygirl SkinnyMini Margaritas | Tory Burch Beach Towel Black Floppy Hat | Hayden Reis Tote | Gnarly Whale Beach Waves

What are some of your favorite day dreams for a relaxing day for mommy?

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Danny and I are huge baseball fans and we have been eagerly waiting for the day that we could bring the littles to their first Tampa Bay Rays Game! Well Sunday was the day and it was Family Fun Day at Tropicana Field so it couldn't have been more perfect!

To be honest we were a little nervous about bringing them both since it would have been right around nap time, but they actually had a great time!

We were sitting in the Hancock Club area which made things a little easier since we didn't have to stay in our seats the whole time. There was plenty of space for the kids to run free! And as you can see I'm getting a lot of use out of these umbrella strollers :)

Sienna and I even made it on the jumbotron during Take Me Out To The Ball Game! That's always a goal of ours so not too shabby for her first game! She also had cotton candy for the first time and needless to say, she will be hunting down the cotton candy man every time. 

The game was a great game as well! The Rays' pitcher, Chris Archer, pitched his first shutout against the Astros winning the game 5-0! Gotta love an exciting game.

  

We were even able to stay for the Summer Concert Series after and watched Carly Rae Jepsen perform! It started a little late, so we had to leave without hearing Call Me Baby ( I think I was the only one really upset about this). Overall we had a blast and Sunday Fun Day at the Rays Game with les deux was a success! We can't wait to take them back :)

Flying With Toddlers

While we still have travel on the brain I thought I would share some tips and tricks of certain must-haves every parent needs while traveling with toddlers. As you saw here we recently flew to Virginia and Washington D.C. with les deux! The trip was definitely a lot of work with a one and two year old and only Danny and I, but if you have these essential items below, it will make for smoother sailings :)

photos via here

1. First off we have the beloved iPad. Daniel doesn't like to watch tv, but Sienna loves a great  Sophia the First episode or Elmo movie. I made sure to download a couple of surprise movies and shows onto the iPad before the trip to whip out when needed. If it can help keep one cranky toddler calm during a long flight, I'm all for it!

2. Next we have the One Step Ahead Ulti-Mite Umbrella Stroller. As much as we love our Bob Duallie, that beast is not made for flying. So a couple months prior to our trip I decided to get two umbrella strollers for traveling. Lucky for me I snagged two of these strollers with a 30% off coupon on Gilt one day and they came out to $50 for both! If you haven't signed up for Gilt, it's amazing, you can do it here. There were many times on our trip when I did miss by double stroller, but smaller is definitely better while on the go! And one also came in handy as a luggage carrier through the airport while Daniel was in the Ergo Baby carrier. 

3. And then we have my new favorite the kids' new favorite snacks, Plum Organics Teensy Fruits. These are soft fruit snack that hold to their name and are small and safe for Daniel to eat. The kiddos love them and fight over them so I have to separate their piles while snacking. My concern with flying was of course their ears so I brought lolli-pops, but they didn't keep them in their mouths long enough to soothe any ear discomfort. The fruit snacks kept them chewing and swallowing. Looking back we definitely looked like crazy first-time-flying-parents with how many packs we opened via takeoff. Hey...at least they had multiple servings of fruit in ten minutes!
4. Of course every mom needs a good crossbody while traveling. Having two free hands while juggling multiple boarding passes, IDs and toddlers is vital! I made sure to bring along my Kate Spade Cobble Hill Ellen crossbody. It's pink, perfect, and made travels with les deux easy breezy...
5. And last, but not least my fabulous Wet Ones travel pack! While traveling through airports no parent should be without these. The bathroom lines can be long and washing the their hands doesn't happen as much as I'd like.  Of course I had hand sanitizer which was in the carry-on zip-loc bag with all my liquids and I also packed travel packs of Clorox wipes. These are great for wiping down arm rests or any surfaces that just seem icky. 
My biggest piece of advice when flying with toddlers is to carry-on as little as possible. We had to carry WAY too much through the airport! Next time I will bring a diaper bag and MAYBE another carry-on, but it is worth it to check as much as possible. 
As hard as it was I can't wait to do it again! 
Do you have any tips on flying with littles?

Virginia Is For Lovers

For our first trip with les deux we headed up to Virginia for our best friend, Lindsay's, wedding. We decided to go ahead and make a vacation out of it so we stayed in Washington D.C. for two nights after. The last time Danny & I had visited Virginia was for our grade school D.C. trips so we had no idea what kinds of things we could do with the kids. After some recommendations and research I found a child friendly winery that we decided to visit.    Thursday night we flew in so we would have all of Friday to do things. We went out to visit the Barrel Oak Winery and it was just amazing. I had no idea there was such beautiful scenery in Virginia...and great wine as well!  

 ^^^If you know our family, you know it's only fitting that there is a VW in the background :)     On Saturday, we had the wedding in the evening at another winery, The Farms at Hamilton Station Vineyards. Once again Virginia did not fail to please. The backdrop of the wedding ceremony was just breathtaking and made for such a beautiful moment.  

The kids were a little rowdy so they had to watch the ceremony from afar.

The cocktail hour and reception were inside the rustic barn, but we spent most of the cocktail hour venturing the grounds with kiddos.

These kids could play with gravel all day if I let them...

After dinner Danny and the kiddos were chasing lighting bugs? or fireflies? Not sure what they are called, but we don't have these neat little things in Florida!

and we danced the night away...

  Virginia was a wonderful time and we can't wait to go back!     

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)