Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. Books are a big deal at our house and even in months where we are overwhelmed with all the things (ahem, May), we make it a priority to read as often as possible. I get a lot of questions about how we cultivate a love of reading in our family and while it isn't easy, it is certainly doable. We ask friends and family to gift the girls books instead of toys and we did that even when they were little bitty girls (remember Sophie's first birthday party?). Josh and I don't often watch television until after they are in bed at night (with the exception of survivor marathons with the girls and college football), so when ...
Currently | June 2018
Of all of the months in 2018, May seems to have passed by the quickest. I can't say that I'm upset about it, because the end of school and extra-curricular activities brings with it a lot of added stress. I swear I was writing a check to the school twice a week and the kids always had something extra to purchase or carry with them to class. Between teacher appreciation, class parties, and fifth grade graduation -- I was overwhelmed and broke by the time Memorial Day came around! Ella has a few more days of dance practice and Sophie is taking a hiatus from piano this summer, so I'm adjusting my work schedule accordingly and we are going to spend plenty of afternoons and evenings at the pool. traveling | We are only days away from our annual beach vacation and we cannot wait. For the ...
Book by Book | What I Read in May 2018
Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. I have no idea how I managed to devour six books last month, given how crazy the month of May always is, but Josh made sure I spent plenty of time resting and I had a huge stack of books at the ready. We're headed to the beach very soon and I'm hoping to read even more books in June than I did in May. My stack is a little atypical of my normal summer reading, but I have several that I'm really excited to tackle. I'm sure there will be at least one bookstore run during our two week stay, so if there is something amazing you've read in the last few weeks, please let me know in the comments! 15. EXPECTING ...
Ella’s 5th Grade Graduation
Today's post might be a little disjointed and all over the place, but I have so many thoughts to preserve about this time in our lives, so just stick with me, okay? It's hard to believe that elementary school is officially over for Ella, but believe it or not, it happened! She's been talking about this day for years and was so excited (and maybe a little bit nervous) to wake up on graduation day. Because of the way her birthday falls, she's almost an entire year older than some of the kids in her class. We didn't have the option of starting early for her and, at the time, I had no idea how this would affect her down the road. I'm guessing it will be a little easier to navigate in middle and high school, since we can better tailor her classes to her interests and intellect, but ...
Memorial Day Good List
Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. We were greeted with rain clouds and an impending tropical storm on Monday morning, but instead of complaining about our possible inclement weather, let me tell you all the reasons why our Memorial Day was perfect. 01 | Ella has a newfound love of cooking and has been killing it in the kitchen since school let out. This is the second pasta salad she's made in the last week and they were both delicious! She asked me this weekend if she could be in charge of prepping dinner over the summer break. Ummm, yes, please. 02 | While daddy went to the gym and I finished up in the kitchen, these two enjoyed breakfast ...
Bumpdate | 24 Weeks
Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. I might only be sharing a monthly bumpdate, but I’m still taking weekly photos to share on Instagram — and to preserve for the baby book — so I figured I would catch up at the beginning of each update post. Here are our weekly photos since we last checked on baby. Can I tell you what a relief it is to reach the age of viability?! I never worried much during my pregnancy with Ella -- and, honestly, I haven't been too anxious this time around either -- but with Sophie, I was a nervous wreck! I know that it was all related to our two losses between the girls, but I lived that pregnancy with a sort of caution I ...
Pupdate | Happy Birthday, Scoop!
It's hard to believe Scoop has been a member of our family for almost eleven months, but we're closing in on her anniversary quickly. She celebrated her first birthday last Friday (May 11th), but spent almost the entire day at the vet recovering from lady surgery. I could have easily shared a one year update anyway, but we decided she should get a do over. Sophie was not happy that she had to have surgery on her birthday! Scoop is so much better behaved than our first dog every dreamed of being. Not that Beemer was terrible, we were just young and thought she could do no wrong and never really worked hard on manners or obedience with her. We could have probably done better with Scoop, too, but I'm very impressed with how well she's adjusted to family life after eleven months. She ...
Mother’s Day Things
I used to think that Mother's Day had to be a big thing -- that unless you got an extravagant gift or breakfast in bed, that it couldn't possibly be perfect. That was, of course, before I had kids. Once you add little people to the mix, there is rarely anything relaxing or extravagant about the day. It didn't take long for me to realize that it's the people who make the day. You can't go into holidays with big expectations, because no matter what it is you expect, there is the potential for disappointment. What you can do, is enjoy every single happy moment as they happen and thank your lucky stars that God gave you these wonderful people in the first place. Here is what Mother's Day looked like at our house: 1. Cash from "the kids" in a homemade card. This could not have been more ...