A date full of chocolaty-marshmallow goodness

 We have so much fun on our little homemade dates (you can see a jenga date here.). It's usually super simple and costs nothing or very little. Life is busy with Cody not getting home until 5 and Mackynzie going to bed around 7. There is a lot we try and cram into our evenings (and Cody spends as much time as possible with Mackynzie before bed.) So spending quality time together could easily be pushed aside. Our little evenings (we try to have them multiple times per week along with just hanging out in spare time.) are so special for us, and as Cody would say, we have fun. Right hun? Haha sorry, its the delivery and comedic timing he uses that makes it hilarious. 

Thursday night was a s'more date with great conversation.

Ya... We have fun.

July-stagram

 It's that time again. How has summer passed so quickly? Time to share my top 30 instagram pics with ya. You can see the round-up of June here.

 I didn't have time to round up 30 pictures, plus my top three favorites this time, but I will still share the ones I like best (sorry for the repeats).

First place: This picture of Mackynzie holding an unimpressed Fynn. This is what they do every. Single. Day. I kid you not. for at least a couple hours in the day, they run around; him running away, her chasing, him reluctantly being held, him escaping, repeat. 

 Second place: A squinty family picture in front of a fire truck. I didn't realize how rare it is to get all three of us in one frame, without a cell-phone-in-the-mirror picture. Looks like I have a new mission.

 Third place: Was going to go to that super cute photo of Mackynzie grinning at the end, but I decided on this one of us on our usual morning walk. Its a good representation of a typical weekday morning at our house.

 I am already snapping away for August. If you want to see them as they come (and the other pics), you can follow me on instagram at Rainbow Miller (just hit the follow button and I will approve your request ;) ).

The calm before the storm of fun

*note: This was actually supposed to be published on Friday, but there was an error and I didn't realize nobody could see this. sorry about that!

 I am blogging from my phone for the first time, so bare with me. Right now, I'm laying on the couch nursing my cat-napping girl, still unshowered, but the house is pretty clean and I am almost prepared for the crazy weekend ahead. We have a fun filled 3 days planned and we are super excited. (more on what that entails early next week!)

 Today is farmer's market day, which I look forward to all week. I buy my select few things, but it's still awesome. I most look forward to fresh peas and FANTASTIC tiramisu cupcakes baked by a local lady. I get them every single Friday. I'm not even kidding. And they are usually gone come Saturday night (there Are only four...). She expects me, U getting to know me quite well, and we part ways with "see you next week!" it's quite wonderful. We have 'cheat Friday' where we can eat a treat or a not so healthy meal, so there is no guilt haha. This weekend however, will be crappy-food filled, since we will be eating fair style food, and our anniversary is coming up, where we are allowing ourselves to indulge. I will have a lot of Zumba to do next week...

 Fynn sums up our morning and early afternoon so far. The calm before the storm of busy fun.

Mackynzie fell on the burley at exactly the right angle to get cut on her bottom... Maybe the calm is over and the craziness has begun?

Happy world Breastfeeding Week!

 I just wanted to stop by and say happy world breastfeeding week to all you nursing mommies! That also means those of you who have nursed (no matter how long. ). Happy, happy nursing to all of you who know those milky grins, sleeping latches, big full tummies, chunky rolls, and conversations purely through the eyes of you and your sweet little one. And for those of you who read this and nursing didn't work out for you, happy world breastfeeding week to you too. You tried, and you did your best. Every drop of milk is a blessing. I am extremely grateful that I am able to still be nursing my sweet girl at very close to 22 months. I have a lot of people to be thankful of (many of whom I have never met in person!) and can't express in words the amazing rock of support my husband has been and is. If you are a nursing mama and know me, then I am most likely thanking you now. For support, for friendship, and for helping ground me in my instincts to nurse my baby (now toddler!). Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you all have a beautiful end to your week.

Because when you stop and look around, life is pretty amazing.

 There is so much love in my heart. I get to love and be loved by these two, amazing people. I get to see their smiles, feel their hugs, and shower them with kisses. They inspire me, they make me laugh more than anyone in the world, and I love them so much, that the only ones who will ever know the immensity of my love, are them, and me. I need to live with this love and happiness, leading every movement and word of every single day. I need to be my most kind, most caring, most giving, most loving self every day. I need to do good for them, even if I may not get a thank you. I need to pick up those same socks in that same spot, and wipe up that same spill, and have it remind me of how thankful I am to have someone to forget those socks, and spill that spill. Sometimes, it's hard. Sometimes, it's really hard. But damn, it's worth it. It is so worth it...

A little Window- Er, Old House Shopping

 Today Mackynzie and I had tons of fun exploring and adventuring little things throughout our day.

After chowing down on a cheat-friday ice cream, we decided to check out a local 'stuff' shop to continue our fun. I had never been inside before, but the cozy looking outside always made me want to stop in. Boy, was I missing out! First off, this place is super unique and incredibly cozy. They bought an old (a town 'original) house and turned it into their store. They kept it in the same layout, but just made use of the space (Probably a big reason I was so in love with it.). This house was huge though. You walk through the front door, into the hallway that leads into the 'house'. There are shelves of awesome treasures, both handmade and unique everywhere, and pictures, paintings and wall hangings that hug every bit of space on every wall. It's so cool, because you walk from room to room and the place is literally packed with stuff. You even go into the door-less closets to look at displays of beautiful things. The lower part of the store is a little clothing boutique. The only changes it looks like they made to the place (apart from obvious repair and maintenance) was putting in two check out counters. We went through and snapped some (bad) pictures of lots of things I would like to add to our humble abode. You guessed it, I'm going to share them with you.

You will probably notice a lot of the photos are of beach-y things. My taste is most often very beach inspired and I can't wait until our home reflects it more.

I LOVE this, but after looking at it again (and the price tag...) this could be a fairly straight-forward and fun DIY.

I sort of  really have a thing for ceramic (white) animals. I want almost every one I see! This one doubled as a hook (under the trunk.). Fancy.

This half-hidden picture frame is really cool. It has a little chalk board around it. So cute!

I really liked this magazine basket. Perfect for a living room, den, nook, or bathroom!

Doesn't this serving platter look so soft and pleasant? It looks like a perfect morning feels.

This picture is blurry, sorry. Its a go-cup that says 'namaste'. Totally up my ally. (I felt like a creeper going around taking pictures, so I got some odd angles and bad quality haha)

They had a bunch of really fun aprons too.

I loved this pitcher and jar. I am a big fan of the soft blue playing off the fake green flower/foliage thing.

There is just something about wooden bowls, utensils, and accessories in a kitchen...

Okay, so maybe it's just a ceramic thing to an extent?

Pretty beach-y serving plate.

 I snapped this while heading down the stairs haha.

You can see how 'original' this house is. So beautiful.

We had a lot of fun in there and Mackynzie didn't want to leave. She left enthusiastically saying 'Bye!' to everything. We will definitely be back (possibly multiple times) to pick up some fun things.

A version of princess and the pea you don't hear in fairy tales...

 You know all those 'firsts' you hear about? Specifically the ones you are supposed to experience at least once when you become a mom? Some of them are sort of goofy and you just put them on the back burner (or, like me, forget about them completely and then remember vaguely right after it happened.) Today was one of those firsts. I'm sure it won't be the last, but I am hoping we may get lucky and it will be...

 Mackynzie got a pea stuck up her nose. 

 I am not kidding when I say I completely forgot that children get objects stuck up their noses. In her defense (like she needs any since she is not even two.) she did not place it there herself. She is into this new 'thing' where she takes all her food off her plate/out of her bowl, puts it on the table/floor/couch, and eats it with her face- like a dog (Resulting in a pea finding it's way up there.). Today she chose to do this with the peas she was eating for lunch. I didn't notice the pea (and maybe wouldn't have) until I was nursing her afterwards and (bare with me) cleared a booger out for her. She usually says something like 'booger' or another relevant word after, but this time she said 

"pea." 

I assumed she had to pee , so after trying to clarify she said 

"No, pea."

And pointed to the table where she had eaten. As I was looking at the table and about to ask what she meant, she said

"Pea. My nose!"

I clued in, took a look and sure enough, saw a flash of bright green. I ended up only being slightly uncomfortable with the situation, because I didn't want to end up pinning her down while some random doctor fished it out. I tried getting her to blow, but she was very upset that there was a pea in her nose, so I was not allowed to touch it. I called my dad [in law] and he told me he had had a few experiences with similar situations in his years of fatherhood. He told me to try and get her to take a deep breath, hold one nostril and help her push the air out from her belly. I hung up and tried, but I was not getting anywhere near her nose. She was telling me how she did NOT want a pea up her nose. Finally, I made a game of it by demonstrating how to blow through your nose with your lips closed tightly. I made it funny by nose-blowing on the dog (hey, whatever works.). I did this twice and then did it on my finger to show her where the air was coming from. I seemed super excited too, so when I asked her if she wanted to try to blow on my finger, she gladly accepted. She gave a weak little blow, but it only took a giggle and some encouragement for her to take a deep breath and shoot the pea across the living room. When she saw it, she was relieved and still giggling from our game. I called my dad back and told him operation pea removal was a success. She chatted and giggled about how silly it was for the rest of the afternoon.  

Ah... firsts. Can we just do the fun and silly ones please?