Teeny Ramblers

A Blog celebrating the Teeny Ramblers of the world & and all the things that make it work

We're Moving!!!!

For those of you that follow us on social media, you might of seen me posting (in access) that we are MOVING!!!  When we moved into our current home four years ago, it was never with the intention to stay there long term.  However, property in and around the Seattle area is SO expensive! When we started our search for homes in mid February, it was with a specific area in mind which made the inventory low.  We kept hoping that something amazing would pop up but we realized that we would be putting in a contingent offer that not many sellers would consider-even if we did found our dream home.

One day, my husband casually mentioned a new build neighborhood going up and thought we should take a look based on the lot size and location.  Up until this point I was NOT a fan of new builds.  Mind you, we aren't talking about a custom home where you are picking out everything from floor plans to tile to paint.  These homes were beautiful but offered very little in the way of customized options.  Still, I agreed to go.

Once we got to the site, I think both my husband and I shouted a collective, "ummm hell yes! this will work!"  We put down a down payment and then put our house on the market immediately.  As luck would have it, we sold our home in ONE day (partially furnished) and then felt super as we got past each nerve wracking phase until closing.  We closed on 5/28 with the the option to rent back until the end of July (which works out perfect for the completion date of our new home).

While our new home isn't completely my style (tile, kitchen island, etc.) I know all these things can be changed over time and I'm  so excited to get in there and figure out a plan.  I feel so blessed and so proud of how hard we have worked to be able to give our kids an amazing house to grow up in.  I hope to post house progress and continue to document our lives like a living and breathing journal.  Cheers to the summer people, it's gonna be a good one!


Here are a few pictures I snapped of the exterior/interior.  And yes, I completely sneak in after the workers are gone to check on progress.






Xoxo
Jaimee

Essential Oils 101 and Why we love them

Hi Friends!!

photo via @thismagicmama
Soo.....we have been using oils in our house now for a solid year (in one form or another) and I feel like I can finally share about how AWESOME they are.  For the most part we try to live a pretty healthy lifestyle.  With that being said, I still give my kids crap and we indulge in 'not so great for you' things but overall I try to be really aware of the things that I make a part of our every life.

Enter oils.

My kiddos have always been decent sleepers.  I was (and am) a firm believer in routines and for the most part we do NOT mess with them.  When my daughter was around 3 1/2 we hit a total unexpected sleep issue.  She was super hard to put down and thought it was hilarious to just get up out of her room and race down the hallway (in addition to waking up several times a night).  I was a tired mama with a 1 and 3 year old and I was looking for answers.  My cousin told me about Young Living oils, as an all natural way of aiding in sleep support.  I thought that at this point I would try just about anything so we bought a few things and a cute diffuser and gave it a try!  Not sure if it was the magical thing I was looking for but when I look back, oils (in conjunction with all our other routines) are what helped most at night.  Young Living has this calming sleepyize scent for kids that is just so good.  Not to mention it helped a ton in my son's room that still houses a diaper genie and ya know...diapers ;)

As we've become more adept at using our oils I love finding different ways to support our systems rather then turning to medicine or topical things that have horrible ingredients.  Although I love the look of candles, we rarely light them anymore.  My FAVORITE scent in the diffuser is Peace and Calming coupled with Orange!!  I'm one of those people that likes to walk into a house and be met with an inviting smell.  I also love that the kids are invested.  We make rollers for bravery, nervousness, health and immunity boosting, you name it!

Another reason when making the switch to a cleaner lifestyle is the added benefit of buying everything in ONE place.  I was SO sick of going to target, whole foods, trader joes, etc.  It did NOT work with my lifestyle.  I just quickly edit my essential rewards cart once a month and stock up on must haves like:

-Laundry Soap
-Rollers
-Oils
-Makeup remover wipes

The sky is the limit.  I can do without a few Starbucks trips and clothes if it means I'm able to switch out our not so great products with things I can feel good about.

As with all things we are learning as we go and aren't changing our entire life in one day.  Change happens gradually.  If any of you are interested in making the same changes I would LOVE for you to join our oil team, grab your starter kit and opt into Essential Rewards so I can plug you in to all the resources.  I promise it will be the best thing you ever do (pinky swear).

Drop me a line on my instagram (@jaimrichards) to see how to sign up or follow this link to grab your starter kit so we can rock this wellness journey together!  I will be sharing a TON over on my instragram and occasionally you'll see some useful stuff here on the blog so stay tuned....!


p.s. the FIRST person who signs up with me (and opts into Essential Rewards) after seeing this post, I'll ship a free diffuser too! DM me when you're done!


Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

Disneyland!!

Hi Guys!  Finally getting a chance to post about our Disney trip!  Although we used to live in Los Angeles and had a special pass to go whenever we wanted (!) we hardly ever went (I know, I know....what were we thinking!?).  Anyway, since we had taken a huge family trip down to Disney World last year, we thought we would make a day of hitting up Disneyland.  We opted NOT to do both parks because our kids are only 2 and 4 and ain't nobody got time to run around like crazy people trying to do it all!






This year Jordan was tall enough to ride pretty much every kid ride in Magic Kingdom which was great.  Lukie is at such a great age too, we hit up Toontown and saw all the characters and their houses.  Although it was a true "kids" trip, it didn't matter, we had the best time ever.  We ate all the things (I'm still sour about missing out on the Mickey beignets!) and rode and walked around to our hearts content.

I impuslively bought this stroller right before we left and I LOVED it!!  Double strollers can be SUPER spendy but Jordan isn't quite at the age where she doesn't get tired.   This stroller is easy to fold and allowed for storage and a quick hop on and off for miss J.

The only true bummer was the that castle was covered up due to repairs (repainting) so they just had a huge tarp up in front of it.  If my arm was twisted, I'd have to say that Disney World was SO much more worth the money.  I've been lucky enough to go several times over the years (thanks mom!) and have stayed in just about every lodging they have and it's by far a more magical experience.  I especially recommend staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge where there are giraffes, etc. on property and you can look out your window and just see them roaming (SO neat!).

Besides the Bucket List Family, is there just a job where you can go on fun vacations with your family and get paid/sponsored for it!?  If there is, sign me up!! I live for this kind of stuff!!

Xoxo
Jaimee



Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossoms!!! I've been dreaming of going to visit the cherry blossoms and praying they would be at their beautiful peak with nice sunny weather.  I heard that it would be busy at the UW Quad and to get there early but ya know...(naps) so....we ended up getting their early afternoon.  It was CRAZY busy and I kept thinking how cool it would have been had we been the only people there.  At any rate, I highly recommend it, whichever way you can see them.  I'm making it a mission to see as many natural seasons in Washington as I can!!










The kids had a blast.  Jordan was the first to ask to take her shoes off--my girl who just wants to feel the grass between her feet.  They ran and climbed trees and we just had the best day ever.  I love having weekends that feel like a great mixture of fun and getting things done at home.  We capped off our Sunday night with dinner on the deck.  It was pure bliss.  If you happen to find yourself in our neck of the woods, make sure it's this time of year and that you can catch these blossoms!

What's next for us??  Upcoming tulip and peony seasons!  I can't wait to visit the peony farms I've been hearing so much about.

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

Friday Favorites

Spring is officially here and I am so ready for it!  We've had a rougher winter up in the PNW so I feel like we are more than due for some sunshine and open window days, am I right!? I have some fun things to share with you as you get ready for your well deserved weekend.  So, without further ado, let's dive into some Friday faves.

Blossoms at the UW Quad--can't wait for full bloom and picnics under these trees!!
(**you can shop my links by clicking on the highlighted and underlined words**)

*I'm watching for cherry blossoms like a HAWK at the University of Washington's campus--they have a 'real time' camera for those waiting to take advantage and I'm here.for.it.

*Anthropologie is having their one day only Anthro Perks sale (20% off)!.  I'm loading some fun spring things into my cart like these vases and this pillow.

*It's been a hot minute since we have updated our bedroom.  I was able to sell our old headboard on offer up and put the money towards this bed that I'm in LOVE with at Ikea.  I also found the most perfectist perfect rug in the history of ever and it's backordered...until June (blah).  But still, it's that good I'm waiting for it.  You can find it here.  I'm also on the lookout for a cream linen duvet (I am new to the linen trend but I've been loving our sheets!)

*This book for Easter

*I'm eventually going to get around to my post about how I keep my car organized.  These are the BEST!! 

*Anyone else gearing up for Game of Thrones!? (me too).  Until then, I've discovered Vikings and I have to say that it's proving to be a complete binge worthy show. 

Last but not least, we are on the hunt for a new house which is proving to be more difficult than I thought.  We live near Seattle and it's difficult to afford a house that also within a really good school district.  Hopeful that this summer we will find the perfect one...keeping my fingers crossed!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne 


DIY Engineer Prints on the cheap

After a much needed break from the blogging world I'm back to talk about an easy DIY project.  Engineer prints are not a new thing, you have seen them all over blogs and Pinterest.  My two favorite tutorials are from Chrislovesjulia and also AngelaRosehome (which is the tutorial I followed--learning a few new things along the way that I'll share with you!).  Now let me preface by saying that I am not a professional photographer.  These prints were taken with my iphone XS Max and I think they came out great!  Even so, due to the large nature of the prints, upclose they can appear grainy but for me, it doesn't really affect the overall look!  Another tip to keep in mind is to dress your child (or subject) in lighter clothing.  You can't tell (or maybe you can??), but because Luke was wearing a dark shirt, the printing picked up all these horizonal lines.  It doesn't bother me but just something to consider!





Anyway, back to the DIY.  I did this ENTIRELY from my phone...in like 10 minutes.  Next I'll dive into the step by step process so that you can create beautiful prints too!

1.  When you are taking your pictures, be mindful of negative space (meaning lots of space around the top of the photo).  Use a nice light background (a plain white wall works great) and make sure it's a time of day where you can take advantage of good lighting.  For my pictures, I tried to goof off with my kiddos so that I could capture a more natural shot.  Once I was satisfied with the picture, time to edit!

2.  Editing 101:

*open the picture
*hit the "edit" button in the top right corner
*tap on the 'crop' button in the bottom left of the screen
*choose the 2:3 resize option and save
*click on the three overlapping circles and choose the 'mono' filter and save
*click on the light button (looks like a little timer) at the bottom of the screen and tweak the brightness and then save







You're done with the editing process!

3.  Next you're ready to upload to Staples.com.  Now, I tried to expedite this process but it can only be done online (not at your local store--they are phasing out these types of printers).  Below is a brief walk through of how to upload your print and what to select.  It works very similar if you want to upload right from your phone!  Here is a brief tuturoial (click on the link)!

How to order and Engineer Print from Staples.com

That's it!!!

I went into my local Ikea for the frames.  I got these ones in size 24X35 (you can also purchase online if you don't live by an IKEA).  They are cheap frames but wait to see if you love the look before investing in expensive ones!  The plus side to these are that they are light weight and no glass will break as they are made from thin plexiglass.

That's it!! Please comment below if you have any questions, we love how these prints add character to our otherwise SUPER blank wall!!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne


Christmas 2018 & New Years Recap

Happy Christmas!






Happy New Year!!

Ok, so we took some well deserved time off over break.  For once we didn't have any family in town and at first I thought it would feel a little lonely but let me tell you, it was the best Christmas ever.  We had nowhere we HAD to be and so we got to do exactly what we wanted.  Christmas Eve happened to be sunny (say what!?) and so we took the kids out in their pajamas and walked up to Starbucks.  It was the BEST way to start off the day.  After lunch and naps we headed into the city to get some wiggles out on the playground and also check out the festive ice skating rink (maybe next year) and lights.  We decided that we would take the kids up to the Botanical Gardens to see the Christmas lights display and it was beautiful.  Next we headed back downtown to eat at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants all the while watching people as they did last minute shopping and set up for the parade.

The BEST decision of the night was saving the nightly Christmas parade for the night before Christmas.  It was SO magical!!!  Besides having to hold both the kiddos up on our shoulders and alternating between this and just having one kid on our hips, it was festive and amazing and at the end it SNOWED!! (no real snow but...hey we will take what we can get!)  Lukie was so sweet he kept saying over and over, "it's snowing!!"  After the parade we quickly rushed to our car and high tailed it home!! 

After the kids were all nestled in their beds (see what I did there!?)  We got to work setting out all their gifts--which looked like a ridiculous amount thanks to very caring family that overcompensate when they can't see our kids!

The only snag of the night was that Luke woke up around 11:30 screaming.  He is my sleeper and hardly ever wakes so it was alarming and I was like "nooooo" because I thought for sure Jordan would wake up and Christmas would be ruined!!  Needless to say he settled down and we saved Christmas after all.

After all the excitement of the day, I was truly happy to sit down with the hubs and enjoy a movie, drink some hot chocolate and enjoy our fire! 

----------------------

Christmas morning was madness--in the best possible way.  Lukie wanted NOTHING to do with opening any gifts after he saw his scooter but we took our time and eventually he came around (ha!)  Jordan was such a sweet girl opening all of her gifts-so grateful and thankful for all her toys and new art supplies. 

The ENTIRE day was reserved for playing with the kids.  Like I said, no family=no obligations or reason to be out of our pajamas.  The day after Christmas we took the kids up sledding and it was fun for them until...it wasn't.  Poor Luke JUST had his tubes fall out of his ears and when we got back into the car, we discovered that his ear had been draining.  So, into the doctors we went the day after Christmas--severe double ear infection for my otherwise super happy guy. 

And just for good measure, a few snaps from New Years where we went bowling with friends and then came home to homemade pizzas and sparklers with our neighbors!





What a whirlwind couple of weeks.  In the New Year I'd like to stick to a few more of my resolutions than I did last year but not punish myself if goals aren't met to the fullest.  My biggest wish/want for this year are healthy parents and healthy babies.  There is nothing that means more to me. 

Hope you had an equally amazing holiday!

Xoxo
Jaimee