homeschooling for the non-homeschooling mom

Hands up if you are now finding yourselves "homeschooling" your children. I for one, NEVER thought I'd be in this position as I am sure neither did most of you. However, here we are! I have been putting together  some thoughts over the past couple of weeks since the BC school system decided to suspend school indefinitely. We have been on Spring Break, but that comes to an end starting tomorrow and some sort of academic work should be on our schedule.

I have spoken to many friends, mamas, teachers, etc about what the next steps in this crazy process should be. Where to even start? Where to look for resources? What should I be teaching? It becomes so overwhelming so I have decided to take it one day, one step at a time. There is no need to rush this process as our children WILL BE OKAY!

Social Distancing Activities for Kids

We all know what is going on in the world right now is scary, confusing, and just plain sucks! But with small children at home I don't have time to lay in bed all day binge watching Netflix drinking wine like I would probably be doing if I was still in my 20's. I have two little girls, one who is up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6:30am, self isolating or not! Laying around all day trying to just barely get by would not be healthy for any of us. Therefore I have created a schedule to get these girls on a routine for a sense of normalcy considering the circumstances.

Last Sunday night I made a list of 10 activities to do with the girls while Sofia is on Spring Break. We received notice today that the schools in BC will be closed indefinitely, which puts an entirely new spin on things. I had major anxiety all day, I am NOT a homeschool mom nor would I ever want to be! Ever. Just take a look back at this blog, nothing resembled a woman who would become a homeschooler. But, here I am. In a situation where I must learn to make the best of. I am not worrying about homeschooling activities just yet, I am focusing on the next two weeks which is "Spring Break"!

Desert Family Fun

I love being able to take the family with me on work trips. When we moved from Arizona I knew we all would be coming back at least once a year. Not only to see family but also because I still had a large group of clients that booked their family photos with me annually. Pssst if you are new here my photography company is: SteshaJordanPhotography!  It is a wonderful excuse to go down and get some warm weather, spend a little quality time, and for me work A LOT.  and I mean a lot. Typically I spend my days waking up at 6:30am leaving to shoot a bunch in the morning, then head home to my in-laws for lunch, then back out again to catch golden hour. Sometimes the entire fam will come with me in the evening, especially is the location has lots to offer like this Papago Park. It makes me feel a bit better because I get to enjoy the "vacation" a bit with the girls, and also helps get the kids out to see some new locations. 

However, when taking them with me it can be a bit more stressful especially with Lyla Girl and all she needs. This TWELVELittle peek-a-boo leather backpack diaper bag has come in as a life saver! I kid you not! It is so spacious, convenient to haul around, and even clips to the stroller. Most of all, the accessibility to the wipes.... life changing! Either Stephen or I will throw it on our backs and away we go. 

Lyla's Winter ONEderland 1st birthday

January 26th, 2020

Happy First Birthday to our baby girl Lyla Rose!

Picking a first birthday theme can be difficult! I mean, I started thinking about Lyla's birthday back in October. (I know, I know!)  I wanted to celebrate her in a "pretty" way,  just wasn't sure if I wanted a big party or just the family. Turned out we had a medium size with both greats friends & the family! Her birthday fell on a Sunday (the Sunday between the last football game & the Super Bowl so Stephen was VERY happy about that!) we decided to do a little brunch & play date... with lots of desserts! The theme, Winter ONEderland!

welcome 2020

welcome 2020,

I don't typically make New Years resolutions. I do make goals, or life style changes I want to achieve... okay I guess I do make New Years resolutions! Usually something attainable. For example, when I was young, single, and childless it was fun things like traveling somewhere new once a month. Miss those days! This year, I have put together three goals I would like to obtain in the year 2020. As a mom of two, time is sparce and I spend most of my days worrying about everyone other than myself. 

Looking forward to 1. not procrastinating anymore (or not as much!) 2. being more consistent (in both work + personal life) 3. focusing on myself  little bit each day. 

homemade baby puree

Baby Food. A word that literally has so many definitions AND so many opinions. I think any mama out there feels the same or has the a bit of the same anxiety when people ask 

"oh, your baby is eating solids what are you feeding her?"

Lyla had her two bottom teeth come in just before turning five months. At that time our Doctor had cleared her for solids which was so exciting! We tried a few different feeding "practices" but after some time we decided that best for Lyla and us as a family would be baby purees as well as little pieces of what we eat as well. Lyla is a reflux baby, if you follow on instagram or have read on the blog before you will know we struggled big time for the fist six month of her life trying to keep anything in her tummy. At her six month appointment our doctors prescribed Lyla ranitidine which she currently takes twice a day. She also takes baby probiotics every morning which she has done since she was just a couple weeks old. These two factors also had an impact on choosing purees for Lyla. She gets her reflux medicine and probiotics in her morning puree and her reflux medicine again in her dinner puree. 

our breastfeeding journey

First off never in a million years did I think I would be writing a blog post about breasteeding. When thinking back to my first few years blogging things that were important to me then we handbags, Nordstrom's bp department and which shoes went with my outfit. Although those things are still very much important in my life recently nipple cream, pumping, and my never ending water bottle have taken over! 

family connection

Disclosure: I have partnered with YMC and TELUS and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Each year goes by so quickly but this year I can literally see how fast time is flying when I look at this sweet beautiful baby of mine! Do you remember her newborn photos in this post? Or how about our maternity photos we took last winter? I feel like I was just stressing about those outfits yesterday (haha!). Lots has changed since Lyla has entered the world, specially when it comes to keeping in touch with family and sending lots of pictures and videos between everyone. These photos were taken a couple days before Lyla turned 6 months, obviously I need to document! How cute is my tiny little babe?

sister sister

Here is a little throw back post of you featuring some of the cutest photos of Lyla and Sofia that never got published! Take a look....

Can someone please tell me how my baby is three months old already?!  Time is flying by way too quickly which was such a big fear of mine before Lyla was born.  Her new faces she makes, her little  coos, she's grabbing things with her hands and she thinks the dogs are fascinating. She also loves sitting up and observing what is happening around her at all times. The over your shoulder hold is officially no longer! Everyone would tell me that each new stage of a baby's life is the best stage, and even though I am sad time is going by quickly I do love watching her evolve!

Besides time, another fear I have is that I wouldn't be prepared for all these different stages Lyla is going to be entering. The "new born" stage was amazing. The snuggles, the naps, the smells but I knew that wouldn't last forever and in the back of my mind I was constantly thinking, How will I know what to do when she enters the next stage? How will I be prepared? Will I have the right items I need? Will she like the toys and gear I have for her? All these questions would race through my mind constantly. With a little confidence and some help I know we can make it through all stages!

roadtrip - Cannon Beach

part two: Cannon Beach, OR, USA March 19th-20th, 2019

I visited Cannon Beach about 6 years ago while passing thorough on a road trip and since then I have always wanted to go back. This little beach town in Oregon is incredible. Breathtaking to say the least. We left Vancouver on Tuesday March 19th, picked up Sofia at 10:00am and hit the road. Unfortunately we got caught at the border in the LONGEST line of our lives. Over 3 hours of waiting. Patiently or NOT patiently we waited. The girls and I took the dogs on a walk around the park at the border, we had lunch in the car, we played games and we slowly saw our time in Cannon Beach getting shorter and shorter. Once we got through the border we ended up hitting Seattle traffic and then we hit Tacoma traffic plus we were stopping for the dogs to pee and give Lyla a break from the car seat. 

We had plans of arriving in at our Hotel in Cannon Beach around 4:00pm so we could have a bonfire and dinner on the beach. It was 75 degrees and sunny that evening which is unheard of when talking about the Oregon Coast. Unfortunately we didn't arrive in until 8:30pm and everything was dark. We relaxed in the hotel and snacked on what we had in the car for dinner and decided if we head to bed early we can get up and hit the beach in the morning before leaving for the next destination. Here are some amazing photos (my favorite of the trip!) from our morning in Cannon Beach, OR. 

20 weeks postpartum update

I received a notification from my pregnancy app letting me know my baby is 20 weeks old... insert huge eyes and a big WHAT! first off, I stopped counting Lyla in weeks at around 8 or 9... she became two months. I was not going to be that mom who had a 92 week old baby! I had forgotten how many weeks she was but remember very vividly counting my pregnancy in weeks. each week was a huge deal to me. we read the pregnancy app religiously as a family to see how Lyla was developing in my tummy. I still remember to this day, my water broke at 38 and 4 and she was delivered at 38 and 6.  couldn't tell you at all what week or day Lyla is now but it doesn't matter she is almost 5 months haha! I wanted to write a little updated 20 weeks postpartum of how both I and Lyla are doing. You can read the 20 weeks bumpdate here. 

jacket // dress (non maternity but great for a bump, so comfy and NOT nursing friendly, I took this off after these photos because impossible to breastfeed in) // shoes 

Lyla: headband via Hobby Lobby // shorts // onsie hand-me-down from gap

one month recap and Lyla Rose's newborn photos

Lyla Rose is almost one month old (ahhh!) so I thought it was time I finally got her newborn photos up to share! We took these the first week home from the hospital, funny how those first couple of days are a blur yet the best days ever. The mix of adrenaline and exhaustion almost makes those first few days seem so far away and each day she gets older I want nothing more than to remember her just the way she was!

Lyla Rose's Birth Story

Lyla Rose Puckett born January 26th, 2019 at 12:26am. Weighing in at 7lbs 1 oz and 19 inches long of absolute perfectness!

*warning expect a long and probably TMI post on how we brought this sweet girl into the world. I am wiring this post for you but more for me because I never want to forget the best and hardest day of my life!

Lyla's original due date was February 3rd, 219 but she was born at 38 weeks and 6 days, a week and a day early.

our maternity session

Welcome to the last post of 2018, I can't believe how quickly the year has passed. It has been the BEST year yet! Definitely not without it's ups and down, struggles throughout but honestly the best because we got to greatest gift I could ever have asked for. In just a few short weeks we will welcome baby Girl into the world and then 2019 will be the BEST year ever. Today I am going to share our amazing maternity photos we had taken while in Arizona. I had been putting together a vision on what I wanted my maternity photos to look like and after hours and hours of stressing that vision came to life exactly how I imagined! 

Fall Bucket List

Everyone, it is October! Can we believe that?! Fall has been around for the last couple of week like a mentioned before but it TRULY feels like Fall and so many Fall activities going on. We have been having some gorgeous days (although we are embracing ourselves because rain is in the forecast) with golden glows of sun and walks around the property. I have officially stated that Fall is by far my new favorite season here in BC, the colors, the outfits, and the crisp air gives me all the good feels. 

Speaking of outfits, I am so happy to get able to start layering cozy cardigans and flannels! I keep adding more to my online shopping carts and then get frustrated when I g to pick out an outfit and the cardigan I had in mind is not in my closet it is in my cart... anyone else do that?! I also love these new mauve distressed denim pants I received from the Pink Blush maternity line. They are a great muted color for Fall and I cannot wait to pair them with many more sweaters. PLUS, a big bonus that none of my other pants have... front pockets! Yes, these maternity pants have real front pockets which I love. 

life on the go

Disclosure: I have partnered with YMC and Annie’s and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

I can't believe it is well into September already! Seriously, do the years get shorter or is life just so busy time is flying by? Must be the second one. Life lately has been a zoo around here! School has started, Sofia is loving her grade 3 class and of course she got the teacher she wanted (yayyy!). Ballet has started up again, this year she is in primary which means she will be taking classical ballet exams in the Spring AND Stephen is playing softball 2 times a week which Sofia just has to go to!  Not to mention we are half way through the pregnancy and my work is on over load. Geez, I get tired just hearing it all! haha. However months like September and into October are some of my favorites even though they are the busiest because come December when the snow hits we tend to hibernate as a family. 

One aspect to being busy that stresses me out is making sure my family has the right nutrients and healthy foods to eat! If you have been watching on Instastories I have recently been making homemade pear and apple sauce to have on hand for the winter. We grew our garden all summer long which is now coming to an end, and as seen a few posts back we have been hitting up lots of orchards for fresh fruit. Busy life doesn't have to mean fast food, you can still eat healthy even when its quick. 

Gender Reveal: Baby Girl Puckett

Last month we were able to throw together a little BaByQ gender reveal party with some friends and family! We have been working so hard on the yard, both front and back all summer long. It was just one year ago we were able to move into our little farm house and we have a one year goal to get the house presentable! If you remember our initial home post (here) our little cozy farmhouse is only 807 sq ft, so when having a party/bbq/people over ever we need to be OUTSIDE! We are lucky enough to have a huge enclosed deck and lots of grass to run and play. 

Our goal was to have the yard ready but the end of summer. I wanted to have a little gender reveal party but mostly it was an excuse to have our friends and family over to see what we have been working on. I also felt that if I gave Stephen a deadline he would be sure to get the work done! If you remember on Instagram and from this backyard patio inspiration post I was trying to find the best use for our deck area to accommodate seating. Take a look a what we have accomplished so far...

Okanagan Summer: Pear Picking Adventure

Disclosure: I have partnered with YMC and OnStar and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Okanagan Summers are one for the books, always. Every year you can count on beautiful weather, warm lakes, fresh fruit from the local orchards, and lots of outdoor time! We spent last summer building our home so this summer we wanted to take full advantage to get adventurous with exploring the Okanagan in full. If you have been following along on here for some time or on Instagram you know we made it a priority to explore lots of what BC has to offer, even what is in our own back yard!

Fresh fruit is a total hit in our household! Sofia loves almost any fruit you give her and the most recent obsession is Pears. Last year we went peach picking, remember this post? Earlier in the Summer Stephen and I spent a morning cherry picking, I posted an instagram here of it! So when Pear season came into play we knew Sof would be all over it. We spent a day driving around to different orchards Pear picking and then headed off to have a picnic overlooking the Lake!

bumpdate: first trimester

I am finally getting around to giving you my first bumpdate! Many times I feel like my days are going so slow, yet my weeks are flying by. Today I am going to share everything from my first trimester including; symptoms, cravings/aversions, pregnancy must haves, and what I am looking forward too!

Big Sister Party

I have been thinking of how we would tell Sofia she was going to be a big sister since I knew we wanted to expand our family, so a while to say the least. It wasn't until we were actually pregnant that all of a sudden time was passing and things were now becoming real. How would we tell Sof she was going to be a big sister? Is she going to be happy? Sad? Unsure? Will she jump for joy or say, "cool" and walk away. All these thoughts were running through our heads daily. Sofia was also leaving us for the summer, I would be almost 9 weeks when she leaves, that is still so early. But I would be over 16 when she comes back and that is a long time to share the news with the person who deserves to know most. 

Our first ultrasound appointment fell on June 21st, which also happened to be Sofia's half birthday. She has been saying for weeks she wanted to have a half birthday party.... excuse me what?! Listen girlfriend, mama is not in the mood for these shenanigans since when do we do half birthdays in this house?! And a full party at that! I also saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of, we could throw her a half birthday/big sister party, this will be perfect!