Struggling

Posted on | February 3, 2012 | No Comments

I’m in a weird state of limbo these days. I feel like I’m on the brink of amazing things happening in my life & Lord knows I’m due.

I feel like this could be my year. I’m turning 30, my second and last baby is turning 1 and I’m really loving the age two (aside from the manic tyrant that Madison turns into several times per day).

My relationship with Clint is stronger than ever and we are really committed to being there for each other and realizing more than ever that we are on the same team.

But still sometimes I reach the end of the day and I wonder what I’m doing. I try to find myself in the day’s actions and all I can think of is the meals I made, the laundry I folded and the towers I built. I fully realize that being a mom to two young children means sacrificing a large portion of yourself for them. I’m happy to do that but I just wonder when I managed to lose ALL of me?

I’ve decided to make the next 8 months leading to my 30th birthday a journey to find myself. Perhaps it will be re-discovering a long last passion or maybe finding something new that makes me feel whole. I’m hoping it’s filled with a new job that I can focus my energy into and a new me that doesn’t wince every time I look at the mirror at saggy boobs and a pooch-y tummy.

I honestly have no idea where the next 8 months will take me but I can say with certainty that I will make it to a point where I go to sleep happy with my ability to be a mom and still be Joanna.

I hope you guys are up for the ride.

And the winner is….

Posted on | January 11, 2012 | No Comments

Thank you to everyone for entering the Tea Collection giveaway. Make sure to check out the Spring Preview of their Bali collection… I can’t wait to get some things for my girls.

The winner is….. Comment #36

Beth Anne!

I’m so excited for you girl. You will LOVE Harrison in some adorable Tea Collection clothes!!! Email me at josborne824@gmail.com to claim your prize!!!!

Bring Back my Bar – Available through January

Posted on | January 11, 2012 | No Comments

Every January and July Scentsy brings back 20 retired scents for you to stock up on. I’m super excited because some of my favorite scents are on this list (Toasted Apple Butter, Spiced Grapefruit & Cranberry Spice for the win!)

All scents are available until January 31st. As always you can place orders through my website or contact me at josborne824@gmail.com with any questions.

This month’s Scents are…

Amaretto - An almond-scented fragrance sweetened with honey and spice.

Berries & Bubbly - Sweet strawberry aroma with champagne.

Bubblegum - The true scent of baseball-card bubblegum—sugar and cotton candy with a hint of mint.

Buttermints –  Melt-in-your-mouth peppermint candies with subtle hints of creamy butter.

Cherry Almond Pie - Graham crackers, sweet almond, cream, and cherries.

Cinnamon Cider - Tart apples balanced with oak and spicy cinnamon.

Coffee Tree - Bold and sophisticated. Wake up to the rich aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans.

Cranberry Spice - A generous blend of cloves and ginger help define the sophistication of tart cranberry.

Eucalyptus - Soothing, medicinal, and fresh.

Flower Shop - Just like walking into a flower shop.

Mad About Mint - A blast of mint: spicy peppermint, spearmint, and wintergreen.

Mysterious - Spicy, fresh, and woody, this masculine fragrance evokes strength and vitality.

Pretty in Pink - Feminine white florals with a touch of grapefruit over rich amber and wood.

Spiced Grapefruit - Mandarin and bergamot citrus perfectly balanced with spicy coriander, nutmeg, and allspice.

Spring Clean - Refreshing spring air and morning dew blended with orange blossom and crisp white florals.

Taj Mahal - A soft oriental fragrance built on a base of musk and amber with subtle florals.

Toasted Apple Butter - Creamy butter blended with ripe apples accented with rich spices.

Toasted Caramel Sugar - Warm milk with caramelized sugar and toffee, all swirled together with the scent of silky, sweet vanilla musk.

Twilight - A lovely, sophisticated scent, infused with soft romantic florals and ocean air.

Vanilla Walnut - A warm fragrance with roasted walnut and sweet vanilla bean.

Toddler Punishment

Posted on | January 9, 2012 | 3 Comments

Tonight I sent my two year old to her bedroom 30 seconds into dinner & I’m confident I did the right thing.

It sounds harsh just writing that sentence out…. especially if you know Madison. Honestly, she’s a doll. Soft-spoken & so smart it’s scary. She’s polite and witty and a doll with her sister. She’s also fiercely independent & two which equals sharing every emotion she’s having at the exact moment she’s having it. There are power struggles & tantrums and most of the time I’m able to handle with redirection.

Tonight was not one of those nights.

My mother-in-law had stopped by for a few hours this afternoon to see the girls and Clint was home early so I thought today would be the perfect day to cook one of my favorite “one-pot meals.” I cut up the potatoes & zucchini, cleaned the chicken breasts and placed them on top, covered the entire dish in tomato sauce & popped it in the oven. A real comfort dish that is relatively healthy & contains components that every one in my family loves.

We commenced our usual evening ritual. I prepared Hannah’s dinner and Clint sat down to feed her so she would be done right about the time we sat down to eat. The puffs were ready to keep Hannah occupied during our dinner, my glass of wine was poured & we were ready to sit down at the table.

I called Madison to the table & explained to her everything that was on her plate like I do every night.

“Maddie, tonight we’re having chicken, potatoes & zucchini… all of your favorites.”

I expected her to dig right in. Instead I was met with a full on tantrum. There are many nights where she’ll complain about what’s on her plate…. that is nothing new. My rules for dinner are pretty simple. I ALWAYS have at least two things I know she loves. I also (thanks to inspiration by this lovely lady) incorporate new items at most meals. She is ALWAYS required to try a new item but she is not required to eat it all. I give every new item a few tries before we decide it’s a food she doesn’t like or one that we’ll start including in the regular rotation. I do not expect her to love and eat everything on her plate at every meal.

What I do expect is for her to display age appropriate table manners and to listen to her father and I when we ask her to try things.

I made several attempts to diffuse the situation by explaining to her the many times she’s eaten these foods before and all I got was bigger tears and exclamations about how she “HATES CHICKEN.”

So I made an on the spot decision. “You either stop crying and try what is on your plate or you can go sit in your room until you are done crying.”

She decided she wanted to go to her room. I turned the light on for her and watched as she closed the door behind her… sobbing and my heart ached.

I went back to the table & agonized over doing the right thing. Was she too young to be sent to her room? Perhaps she’s having an off day and I should make her something else?

Self doubt was at an all time high but my husband talked me off the ledge and we decided to stand strong. We waited a fw minutes and Clint went in the first time.

I could hear him asking her if she’d like to come back and eat dinner with us which was met by more sobs & emphatic “no’s.”

He came back to the table alone.

A few more minutes passed & I decided to go in. There she was, lying in her bed… full of dramatic sobs and puffy eyes. I swear my mind was fast forwarding 12 years for when I’ll be in the same situation with a pre-teen Madison upset with me because I breathed the same air as her.

I asked her to come to dinner and she just looked at me and slowly shook her head “no.” You could tell she wanted to but honest to God it was like she was taking a stand. She had already drawn her line in the sand by picking her room over dinner & she wasn’t going to give.

So I gave her an out. I put my arms out and said it would make me so happy if she would come eat dinner with us & she finally caved. She stood up in her bed and let me carry her back to dinner. Once at the table she told Clint & I how much she loved us and proceeded to dig into her dinner.

“I love chicken!” she said over and over again. She ate 90% of her zucchini and most of her potatoes. I even added some steamed carrots (one of her new favorites) to her plate while she was in her room and she ate those like candy.

Dinner was a success & as a result she got a special dessert of peach applesauce (side note: when do they stop thinking natural applesauce, yogurt & oranges are dessert because I LOVE this age… I look like a hero for her “special treat” which is really a healthy snack.)

At the end of the day I really hope this whole situation made some sort of impression on her. I’m not a fool to think that we won’t still experience tantrums or battles over food but I like to think of tonight as the night her father and I drew the line in the sand & said that “dinner is what is served on your plate.”

I guess only time will tell.

So now tell me, how do you all handle similar situations with your toddler?

Tea Collection Review & Giveaway!

Posted on | January 4, 2012 | 109 Comments

I’ve got three major criteria when it comes to clothing for my girls.

1. It must be comfortable materials.

2. It must be able to be thrown in the washer with huge loads of laundry.

3. It must stand the test of time. Now that I have two girls I try to make sure that items I buy for Madison are nice enough to last for Hannah.

I want my girls to look adorable but I also don’t want to have to worry about changing them any time they eat something messy, want to roll around in the grass or play hard.  The styles & options from Tea Collection fit the bill.

Tea Collection is a children & women’s apparel company that travels to different destinations for the inspiration behind their collections.

From their website:

Travel opens anyone’s heart and mind to people and places that we don’t know. The clothing we create at Tea transforms the foreign world into a smaller, friendlier and more familiar place. We believe that we bring a little bit of that world home to you. – Emily Meyer, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer

Tea Collection’s current destination for their Fall Line is Modern Mexico. You can see how Tea Collection took their own hand at mixing contemporary kitsch with Mexican folk art in their Boys, Girls & Baby Lines.

Tea Collection can be purchased from their website but is also available in 400 stores including Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.

I love that they have coordinating prints along the baby and older children’s lines so that you can dress siblings in coordinating but not “exactly the same” oufits.

On Madison: The Lantana Wrap Dress

On Hannah: The Lantana Baby Dress

Tea Collection also carries a line of super comfortable & fashionable women’s apparel.  They were nice enough to send me their Dona Dolman Cowl Neck in Dark Eggplant. It is already a staple in my clothing rotation… I even wore it for this family portrait on Christmas Eve.

Although Tea Collection’s children’s & baby’s lines seem to run true to size their Women’s collection tends to run a little on the large side. I normally wear a size Large but ordered the Cowl Neck in Medium which is the perfect fit.

Tea Collection’s new destination for their Spring Line is Bali & I can’t wait to see all of the new clothes.

So now for the fun stuff…. Tea Collection is offering one of you a $50 gift certificate to anything on their site! To enter, simply leave a comment here telling me what you’d like buy with your $50.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following (Please leave a separate comment for each entry):

1. Follow @RaisingMadison on Twitter.

2. Like Tea Collection on Facebook.

3. Share the giveaway on Twitter. (please leave a link)

4. Share the giveaway on Facebook. (please leave a link)

Contest will be open until Wednesday, January 11th at 9:00 p.m. CST. I will draw a winner & announce it here on the blog on January 12th. The winner will have 24 hours to email me back or I will pick a new winner.

Thanks & Good Luck!

Disclosure: Tea Collection provided with the clothing free of charge.  No compensation was received for this review & giveaway. The opinions are fabulous and all mine…. just like Tea Collection!