I adore our sponsors, and the newest addition last year was Step2 and we could not be more excited to add them to the Thome Home crew! This is a sponsored post: thank you for supporting the brands that help support our blog!

*Additional note: This water table is reccomended for the age of 1.5 years +.*

The winter woes are coming in strong lately.  Holy canoli, you guys. Today the sun is shining and I am beaming ear to ear to get a touch of the vitamin D on my cheeks.  We have had a fairly mild winter here, so I cannot complain about the snow.  BUT! The sun — where the heck has it gone?! It seems like the days are so dark, the sun only shows it rays every few days and by 3:00 I am fighting to find any ounce of energy I have left in me.

The kids were feeling the winter blues from being stuck in the house for months on end, and I knew it was time to switch things up and be a “cool mom” for once!

Thanks to Step2 the boys were hooked up with the new Paw Patrol Water Table! The giggles were infectious, and this water table has saved my sanity so many times this week! Indoor water play for the win!

Just look at my littles! (so in love)

Owen definitely thinks I am the ultimate mom for hooking him up with the best toys from Step2.  He always asks when I will be reviewing a toy next, so “my subscribers” can like our pictures.  (thanks YouTube for brainwashing my kids with your toy reviews!)

Max jumped right in.  Literally.  His hands were going crazy splashing the water and he held his stance for over 10 minutes.  Blew. My. Mind.  He is getting so big!

You bet the biggest brother jumped right in.  That is what I love the most about Step2 products.  Just when you think their pieces may have an age limit – there goes my soon to be 8-year-old diving in to play with his brothers.  You just can’t beat it!

Max had to get undressed pretty quickly, ha! The splashing from this little whale was intense, he was smiling so much it just made my entire day!

Want to join the cool moms club? Just bring the outdoors in while the winter winds are still stirring.  You’re kids will keep busy and you’ll finally be able to drink the coffee you warmed in the microwave 6x this morning.

 There are the cutest Paw Patrol stickers for the side, as you can see in this picture – but the boys were filling up the table with water before I could even peel one off to apply it.  Just look how cute the table is with the stickers on!

 I never want to wash these moments away.

 These ever-so-fleeting minutes with my kids that are speeding up the clock to turn them an entire year older.  The main reason behind starting this blog was to journal all the bits and pieces of my kids lives.  Not about my house, or what I cook, or the products I love.   To sit down and write about our day – the adventure we went on –  a milestone they accomplished – or a lesson learned in parenthood.

Somewhere between zero readers and now, this space has evolved into a place where I write about every bit of my life, and somehow managed to lose sight of what I really enjoy writing about.

MY KIDS.  The sweet pure moments of bathtime bliss.  Messy baking with mommy pictures.  Backyard adventures and parenting bloopers I do not want to forget.

 I dropped my love for the simple things, because, quite frankly – I thought most readers could care less.  To build a community, a true following, you have to produce content that provides your readers with something they can take away.  I drank the koolaid and slowly started to space apart my “life” happenings and filled my blog posts with content I knew you all would love, or so I thought.

I looked back at this past year and the stories about my kids were nowhere to be found.  And that bummed me out like crazy.  The entire reason I started blogging was to keep an online journal for my boys to look back on.

 I lost sight of who I was as a blogger –

It has been way too quiet around here – I felt stumped.  Like I had nothing to share, or I was overwhelmed about picking the right content to share.  Every night I would sit down to write and my brain was bogged down by the thoughts of what content I could produce that would keep my blog afloat with its numbers.   A ridiculous rat race bloggers fall into when trying to maintain the sponsors they worked so hard for, along with keeping their readers engaged day after day.

It just wore me out – and I barely got this space off to a good start going this year.  It did not take long for me to figure it all out – why my passion for blogging was zapped.  Just looking back at posts like these Raising TWO Boys.   Call Me Dorothy.  One Look.   made me miss the old bloggin’ me.  The blogger who wrote, and did not care who looked at it.  The MOTHER who just wanted to share her life and ridiculous stories that made my life so crazy and fun.

So – It’s coming back.  More simple day-to-day stories of our life.  Less worry about creating content that will reach thousands and more concern towards keeping the memories I want to look back on years from now.

I love you all, and I know those readers who love The Thome Home love it for the same reasons I do.  So help me embrace the change around here, and bring the old me back.

Because moments like these should never be washed away …

P.S. Don’t you fret if you come here for house projects or our family recipes, that content will still be flowing on a weekly basis.  I just need to sprinkle in more posts that bring me back to my writing roots.

xoxo, abby

Remember a few years ago, when I wanted to start a little virtual book club with you guys? Turns out my lack of free time was exactly your challenge as well, and by March the book club idea was tossed right out of the window.  I just cannot hold myself accountable these days.  Kids school projects get done the night before, permissions signed in the car pool lane the morning of, and a late work night results in ordering Jersey Mikes two nights in a row.  Life right now is hectic, and my minutes alone are so few and far between I’ve lost sight of making “me time” a priority.

Setting goals is just an awful set up for me these days.  I am a list maker – a plan ahead gal, and when my list fails, I feel like a failure.  It is an ridiculous snowball of self loathing lately.  I’ve started to tell myself that my to do list is just to ambitious.  That I need to give myself a break.  The kids back and forth of school, taking care of Max, running the blog during the day takes up a lot of my time.  By the time B is out of school, its back for dinner, bath, play time, clean up and bed.  So my ridiculous list of “paint the dining room” – “menu plan for the entire month” etc. has to go — I need to enjoy the simple things in my spare time, and do my very best to allow myself to breath.

Every month I have SO many things I want to share with you guys.  Funny clips, what I am into, products I love and more.  I thought showing you guys my finds and favorites of each month would be such an enjoyable and fun post to share with you all on a consistent basis.  Not, “Hey! Lets read 2 books this month!” kind of goal. (Even though books are totally in my favorites of the month – more than likely I will not finish them until the next).

Now that you all understand where this totally random post of what Abby is into is coming from, shall we dabble?

Oh, Clinton Kelly – I’ve got a crush on you for sure.  I record his show, The Chew during the day because I love rewatching bit by bit during the week when I do laundry.  The show is so light-hearted,  and fills me with ideas for dinners that I  apply to my real life.   This book of his! Guys, I am only two chapters in and I have laughed out loud so many times.  A must read, if you want to join me!? 🙂

You can buy it off of Amazon, HERE 

I have to share with you the quickest back story before I bless you with my next share.  My grandmother was a QVC queen.  An entire closet set aside for her purchases, multiples of everything because she had 17 grandkids  (so c’mon she had to).  Her jewelry collection was unbelievable! You could literally go shopping in her house and never run out of choices.  It is a standing joke when QVC comes up in discusssion with our family.   Even better, my grandma seemed to of passed the gene on.   Guess who got the bug (not even 5% as bad as my g-ma though) MY MOM.  She has talked my ears off this entire year about this brand of moisturizer/face creams etc she fell in love with.  And I would always shrug along and love the scents, but I am not product junkie so I always just appreciated her love for it.

UNTIL she shared one with me to take home.  You guys, it has turn my world upside down this past month.  And now, here I sit, on QVC and wait for her miraculous arrival and have my cell phone ready to order during her 2 hour specials.

I’ve become a HUGE  Josie Maran fan

(source) 

 I have always leaned toward more natural, pure products to use on my body.  Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and essentially what you put on it gets soaked into every pore.  In years past, I worked with Aveda products, which I think gave me my foundation to care deeply about what I use.   And then somewhere between being a cosmetologist and mother I fell off of the wagon and just forget to take care of my skin.  Sure, I used a daily SPF on my face – but that is about where the self-maintenance stopped.

Until my sweet mama turned me onto Josie Maran.  Her products have been a total game changer for me.  You can read all about her products, HERE.  They are available at Sephora, but if you really want to get the best deal you have to tune into her QVC specials.

Here is what I am using lately…

I’ll break these all down for you in a post coming soon – in the mean time, I highly recommend watching her QVC special where she can talk about everything.  I am hooked on the whipped body butter, and the Milk.  My skin has never looked or felt better, and I feel SO good about putting pure ingredients on my skin.   30 is the decade to start taking care of my skin better – a last-minute attempt to preserve what I have left!

Max started crawling last week.  He has been crawling backwards/belly scooting for a bit and has officially transitioned to crawling like a total maniac.  It is the cutest thing ever, and has me vacuuming and washing my floors even more than I did before! I stumbled across these Baby Einstein toys at Target the other day on clearance (of course) and Max is completely smitten by these…

It comes in one box, and the caterpillar balls are so cute – the face lights up when you hit it on the ground.  Max giggles so hard, pushes it around and gives his thunder thighs a go chasing it in circles.

oh! Last but not least, my favorite hair products that are CHEAP! I go through hair products so quickly I just cannot wrap my head around spending a fortune on them.

I have been using this texturizing sea salt spray for over a year and loooove it.  Not only does it smell like a dreamy beachy coconut – you can use it on day old hair just to refresh and give your hair a bit more oomph and texture! A must have for under $5

Dry shampoo is the answer to every mothers bad hair day.  Living Proof is apparently the best of the best, but for under $5 I have tested a few and found Dove to be the most pleasant smelling – grease sucking up – give my hair another day champion! BY FAR!

Okay loves, that’s a wrap on my itty bitty favorites + finds to share with you all this month! Comment me your favorite finds of the month, or what you cannot live without! I can always use advice in every aspect of my life.  HA!

xoxo, abby

For those of you who follow me on Facebook (you can follow + like our Facebook page, HERE) you have already seen my big news! I have been chosen to be a blogger for Northeast Ohio Parent Magazine – which is extremely exciting, as seeing my writing being published on other sites brings me so much joy!

My first blog I shared with their readers is my “14 Days of Love” challenge that we will be doing as a family.  It starts February 1, and consists of a 14 day countdown – each day the boys are given a random act of kindness to do before they go to bed at night.  I genuinely could not be more excited for this challenge.  The boys actually came up with the majority of these challenges, which just warms my momma heart to see how they come up with ways to make someone elses day better.

The idea spiraled out of me one morning when I briefly turned on the news to catch the weather.  You see, we rarely turn on the news here because as you all are well aware it is extremely depressing and it seems as if every story covered if full of the hate that is spinning around the globe.  I have to drop what I am doing and run to turn off the t.v. before the boys catch wind of the latest murder, terrorist attack or shooting.

Trust me, the boys are not sheltered.  BUT we do draw a fine line about what we share with them.  If they ask, we explain, in vague detail – just enough for their little minds to handle (understand).  It is just a scary world to raise kids in these days, and as parents, we are chosing to put LOVE first in our house. We hope by raising kind, generous, love filled children that they will impact others around them in a positive way.  The snowball effect if you will — as Whitney Houston sang, “I believe children are our future” … it is so so true.

I want our kids to build character in so many ways —

(source) 

And in today’s world, really be KIDS.

SO!

Join me on this challenge with your kids and have them do a random act of kindness everyday in February leading up to Valentines day!

Here is how I set this simple challenge up:

Right now in the Target dollar section, for $3 (see what they do there) you can snag this darling wooden heart garland.  There are mini clothing pins on the back, where I hung paper circles, numbered, with the challenge of the day written on the back.  If you cannot find the garland, just fill out pieces of paper and have your kiddos pick them out of a hat!

The challenge of the day varies, from bringing doughnuts to the fire station, cooking dinner for someone special, even sending a surprise care package to someone who moved away.  Come up with your own ideas, and do not make it too complicated.  There a bunch of simple ones scattered between, like read your brother a book at bedtime, help each other clean up, or play with your pets for 20 minutes!

I hope at the end of this challenge that my boys are even more inspired to do these random acts of kindness more often.  Teaching them to think outside the box.  More than opening a door for someone, or saying please and thank you – that there are millions of ways to make someone smile and let them know you are thinking of them.

Where is the love?

In The Thome Home!

Lets do this guys!

A little Whitney for your Wednesday, you’re welcome for having this song stuck in your head for the rest of your work day.

It is 7:30pm.  Most parents are in the beginning stages of getting their kids ready for bed.  Each and every routine is different, and as I am typing this out (which is the same as saying it out loud) crapola I wish I had a magic routine for our evenings.  Some first time parents, or parents who are amazing have this “written in stone routine”.  You know ‘ the bath, reading, bottle, bedtime.  Usually, once another sibling is in the picture the bedtime routine is cut in half, or at least compromised.  This is when the struggle gets real, when there is more than one.  We all give our best attempt at wrangling all of the kids together to fulfill the bedtime routine you so cherished slowly but surely diminishes to brushing teeth and a kiss goodnight.

We were those parents with Brody.  Bedtime was a sweet time and it lingered in the most sensational and organized manner.  He rolled over, went to bed, and the hubs and I gave each other a swift high-five and scurried downstairs.  Owen came along, and I nursed him.  He was a babe who stayed wide awake until 11:00pm, nursed every 2-3 hours through the night and by a few months in my energy level was zapped.  Somehow, we kept up with the bedtime routine once Owen grew a bit older to understand it.  Books got swapped out for a simple song I would sing, and still to this day, that little tune gets song when asked, and of course a big smooch on the lips.  I always try to tell them how good they are, how much they are loved and how proud I am of them.

But can I be SO beyond honest with you guys?

Lately, I’ve been failing miserably at bedtime.  #momfail #isuck #isitbedtimeyet is the stage we are in. Max (i love you) is an awful sleeper – in the strangest of ways.  EACH AND EVERYDAY is different.  I think we screwed him over with having two brothers in school, both on different schedules. So he spends a lot of time in the car — where he will catch 3 twenty-minute sessions during the car pool lane and the second we pull back into the driveway he is wide-eyed and bushy-tailed.  He is beyond ready for bed by 6:00pm.  It has become his time — and some (aka most) nights it will take 3-4 times (up to 30 minutes) of going in and out of the room shushing him to sleep.  He is going through that delightful stage of screaming at the top of his lungs when he catches your shadow leaving the room.  So I duck down by his crib, shush until I am out of breath and crawl out of his room.  It is ridiculous. Some nights we get super lucky and he will knock out after his bottle on a day he decided napping was for the birds.

So – where am I going with this?

Oh yeah, I suck.

By the time Max goes to bed and we do the “please go back to sleep” dance I just want to sit down and unwind.  Only to realize I have two insanely energetic brothers wanting to spend one on one time and get their sillys out before bed.  I pull up my big girl pants and muster up try to hang the best I can.  By 8:00 they are in bed.  And it goes from these chaotic moments of “get the heck to bed guys!” to me smooching their cheeks and singing their tune.  Somewhere between the hectic mommy meltdown of wanting the day to be over, and tucking those boys into bed, my heart melts.  I feel bad for being so overwhelmed and exhausted and I try to let that moment linger for a second.

UGH.

Parenthood.

I am hoping that we turn a corner here over the next month with Max sleeping better at night.  Because this mommy zombie look is just ridiculous.  And let us not forget I have a blog to run. I feel so defeated sometimes as a mom.  Because I literally do it all during the day – and when I do get a second at night to do something for me, or for work, I just want to zone out and watch reality television with a glass of wine.  Am I the only one? Do any other parents feel like you do everything all day long, and by the night-time you are completely dry?

I seriously came downstairs this morning and moaned out loud.  Dan said “what babe?” and I went on to say that the house was spotless by dinner yesterday, and by the time I woke up there were 3 more loads of laundry and a pile of dishes from dinner and the entire first floor to reclean from evening play.  I made a pathetic pouty face and grunted my way to making lunches and breakfast.

Most days feel like groundhogs day.

And I know I’ll miss these crazy-energy sucking-zombie mom days.  Trust me, I already find myself missing the days of when Brody + O were little(r).

SO, let’s make a deal! If we see each other in public can we just give each other a high-five? And if each others kids are acting like a bunch of assholes in the store can we just smile and nod to one another.  Because we all know we are just counting down the hours to bedtime, and just because it is bedtime does not mean it will come easy.  Bedtime can bring on hours of challenges, only to be woken up multiple times through the night.

We all know how madly-truly-deeply we love our exhausting kids.

 They are the reason I have not washed my hair since last weekend (yes, you read the right) and they are the reason why I am getting choked up just thinking about how much I love them.

Dammit kids, you win.

This is a sponsored blog post.  Chick-fil-A has partnered with our blog this year to collaborate on multiple events to showcase their amazing catering options! All opinions are 100% our own 🙂 Thank you for supporting the brands that help support our blog! 

We host a ton of gatherings at our house.  Whether it is for a big football or hockey game, birthdays or a family celebration – it seems every month (sometimes twice!) we have a hungry crowd to entertain.  While I would not have it any other way, buying food to cook for a large group adds up quickly.  Not to mention the time and money you spend purchasing the groceries, and then the hours of prep work you spend putting everything together in time for your guests to enjoy.  It’s a giant hassle, and one, admittedly so, that is becoming harder and harder to do.  Now with 3 kids little kids in the house, our free time to party prep has been sliced and diced and I found myself overwhelmed with how I would get everything done around the house.

I am a hostess that loves to make appetizers, main dish and deserts, all myself, all from scratch.  Treating my friends and family to home-made treats that I put my own personal stamp on.  I definitely have a weak spot for feeling like I need to “do it all.”  I found myself spending far too much time in the kitchen, missing the conversations and fun of a family gathering all the while I would miscalculate the cooking time and something would end up in the trash. (Money down the drain, or garbage)

 Something clicked with this new year, and rotating guests.  I knew I had to change the way I party plan and -gulp- ask for help! In order for me to enjoy myself more at our gatherings I have decided that ONE part (or all if needed) of the meal will be ordered in.  Our absolute favorite establishment,  Chick-fil-A Macedonia now offers catering! You can pick it up or have it delivered!

   It takes a lot of pressure off of my shoulders and I can finally sit down with loved ones and enjoy our get togethers.

On New Years Eve we put this plan into action! I made a tray of brownies, asked our guests to bring a munchie and we turned to our local Chick-fil-A to handle the rest.

Guys, the delivery option is just a dream come true!

Chick-Fil-A Macedonia has partnered with The Thome Home this year to show you guys the amazing things they offer for catering in 2017.  To start, I have to mention to you all how not only delicious, but fresh their food is.  No joke! They prepare their products in-house everyday.

Here is what we were able to sample with our family for the New Year!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are familiar with their amazing chicken nuggets.  Chick-fil-A is the ONLY “fast food” place I will eat from.  Because of just that, I really don’t view it as “fast food” – their products are fresh, their chicken is CHICKEN, and my entire family can feel good about eating it! These chicken nuggets were gone in the blink of an eye!

One of my absolute favorites to get is the Cool Wraps! They are made fresh every single day, sliced grilled chicken, shredded carrot and cabbage, cheese, mix greens all wrapped up in a flaxseed tortilla.   Coming in at only 340 calories, 13 grams of fat and 36 grams of protein… let us give them a round of applause.  I love to dip mine into either the avocado lime ranch or the creamy salsa! Finally, a fresh delicious and healthy lunch/dinner option you can get in a drive thru.  Or, if you are like us – a giant catering tray to serve at your next bash!

We cannot forget the side dishes and sweet treats! They offer a variety of options to serve alongside your favorite wrap or chicken choice, like salad, fruit salad, or cookies! And let me tell you, the fruit salad is insane.  SO fresh and tasty, beautifully chopped and ready to be served! The cookies are out of this world – they are huge and everything a cookie should be – chewy and soft and packed full of chocolate chunks! Baked every single day! Chick-fil-A offers their crave-worthy lemonade and ice tea in gallons.  The kids went crazy for having these that night, alongside the adorable Chick-fil-A cups – they thought it was so cool to have everything in the comfort of their own home!

If you are interested in catering your next gathering or office meeting with Chick-fil-A Macedonia, give them a call! Not only will you be provided the best, friendliest service you can find – they will make sure you are ready to go! They provide the paper products needed, and even can set up and stage your event! I have always been the biggest fan of Chick-fil-A –  now that catering along with the option of delivery or pick up is available, I am completely smitten!

Keep in mind all of the catering options that they offer come in a variety of sizes to accomodate any crowd you have.  So from office meetings, birthday parties and church gatherings – you can turn to Chick-fil-A Macedonia to make your event one to remember!

If you are local, stop by Chick-fil-A Macedonia and mention our blog The Thome Home – and you will receieve a FREE chocolate chip cookie this month of January!

We have a new logo! Did you notice? Do you like it?

I’m all about a fresh start with the New Year here, but how can we move on without celebrating all of the amazing things we accomplished in our house last year?

Here is a simple month by month play of a few of my favorite things from 2016.

From food to family and home renovations – 2016 was a wild ride, so I am breaking this into two blog posts!

January

I should have given these a better name (sweet low and slow chicken wings?? what was I thinking) To long! I should have called these “Melt in your mouth, sweet and sticky, cooked low and slow, then  turn the heat up to caramelize chicken wings that you will smash” 🙂

Yes, much better.  Make these this weekend! Recipe is HERE. 

I opened up 2016 by looking back on 2015 in the most honest way possible.  Revealing to you all how much I struggled with anxiety, and how it came to a head in 2014.  You see, behind the house projects and pictures of smiling kiddos – there is a mom trying to keep up with it all.  And failing a lot, attempting to do my best and realizing at the end of the day that you cannot do it all.  You can read all about it HERE. 

FEBRUARY

Crazy But True Popcorn is talked about a lot here on the blog.  If you are new here, it is the most scrumptious popcorn you will ever put into your mouth.  We stop in more than we should admit, and I do not see that changing anytime soon.  P.S. buffalo ranch, midnight rolo and cheddar cheese are our family favorites! Check out the post HERE, and their website HERE (they deliver!!)

MARCH 

Look at Owen’s little feet not touching the floor (insert baby fever) (totally kidding) But really, this was nearly 3 years ago since we starting renovating out home and it is crazy to think that at the age of 30 this is the second fixer upper under our belt. Read all about that, HERE. 

In 2016 we welcomed Max into our family – and he has brought so much joy into our day.  His nursery was the only room in our house that we had to buy everything from scratch and it was so fun to piece it all together! Check out his mood board that eventually came to life, HERE.

APRIL

I cannot let this walk down memory lane go by without mentioning these waffles that kept us full and happy every single morning (it felt like) in 2016.  Hands down, the best recipe for belgium waffles HERE. 

Our oldest son, Brody, suffers from Ulcerative Colitis.  A disease that affects his day to day.  A disease that we one day hope to kick in its ass! You can read all about his journey, HERE.  This post has all of the links to every blog post I wrote about his experience with U.C.

MAY

Candy filled s’mores changed the way we, well, s’mored around here.  You must make these!! HERE.

Even more sweetness, Maxwell John-Joseph Thome entered our world and now we cannot imagine our world without him in it.  The best addition to our crew.  HERE. 

JUNE

Our front and backyard is the largest (most expensive) project to date.  I’m walking into 2017 saying good-freaking-bye to these over the top yard projects.  Ah, it feels good to say that.  HERE.

Max’s nursery turned out better than we had ever expected it to.  We have to thank this shiplap wall for truly being the show stopper.  Want to build one yourself?? It could not be any easier, follow our tutorial HERE. 

6 more months to go over for you guys! I hope you scroll over to the right side of the screen and have fun searching through our archives.  Over 5 years of projects and life to go through.  Grab a glass of wine and enjoy!

It is hard to believe 2016 is wrapping up in a matter of a few weeks!

Looking back we had such an amazing, blessed year and we have you guys to thank for that! All of the love you guys share with us here, and spreading the word about our blog to family + friends – we could not be more grateful! Thank you for all of your support over the years!

Next year will be a big year for us, full of even bigger changes – and we cannot wait to take you all on the journey with us.

If you tuned into my Facebook Live session two weeks ago, you were the first to hear about our new adventure.  Dan and I are finally following our dream of starting our own home renovation business.  In 2017, Brick Street Homes will be launching and slowly but surely we will start taking our passion for flipping our own homes and fix up other homes in need of some TLC.

So what will change here?

The name of the blog for one – I’ve mentioned this to you guys in years past, how I always felt like our name was not quite right.  So the business name will be the blogs name, but don’t fret – our content will all remain the same, we will just have this glorious addition of taking you guys on our new journey  with us on the blog!

For those of you wondering, “Where did the name Brick Street Homes come from?” It’s actually simple! Our first home (our first big project) was on one of the only brick streets left in our city.  We LOVED that brick road and all of its charm.  So what better to name our business after the place where our love for renovating homes all started?

We really hope you guys will tag along, things are going to get crazy in a few short weeks and we are so stoked to have this space to share it all with you guys!

We will be taking the next few weeks to get all of our changes ready to launch in time for the New Year.  Until then, have the happiest of holidays you guys!

We love you all, and are so excited to give you guys an all access pass into our crazy new life!

xoxo, abby