The Vintage Modern Wife - Page 2 of 225 -

The Cutest Fall Gender Reveal

December 4, 2017

This post on The Cutest Fall Gender Reveal is sponsored by Oriental Trading although all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This pregnancy is just flying by! I can’t believe I’m already over halfway through it and our sweet baby will be here in 18 weeks or less! A few weekends ago we had about 30 of our closest friends and family over to our home and had the cutest fall gender reveal you’ve ever seen. It was so wonderful and I’m still replaying our amazing time in my mind. We had family and friends travel from 3, 4, and 6 hours away- even friends that happened to have flown into town the night before come to our little fall gender reveal. Ah, it was great!

Because we had our little fall pregnancy announcement at the Dallas Arboretum with tons of pumpkins in the pictures, we thought it would be fun to continue on with our pumpkin theme for our fall gender reveal. I wasn’t sure where to even begin, except that I wanted pumpkins in it. I remembered that Oriental Trading had awesome decorations at affordable prices so I set out to work on our fall decor for the party. Immediately I noticed ideas for trunk or treats on their website and one stuck out to me that was orange and teal. I knew we wouldn’t be going the traditional route like our big gender reveal party during my pregnancy with Addie, and this was perfect!

Lucky for me, all the products used in the photo were actually listed at the bottom of the page so it made it incredibly easy for me to get everything I needed. I ordered tassel garland, a plastic table cloth, pom pom decorations, paper plates, napkins, cups, forks, straws, honeycomb tissue balls, mini hanging lanterns, the cutest chevron table runner, and a semi fanburst garland, all from Oriental Trading and it arrived super fast. I don’t know why I expected it to take a while to arrive to me, but everything I ordered was at my house in a matter of days. Not only that, all the decorations for our entire party cost less than $100! Talk about staying within budget! Woo!

Everything was incredibly easy to set it up. I actually set up most of the party a couple days before because usually it can be so tedious. However, I was mostly done within 20 minutes except for the things that needed to be hung at the top of the curtain rod and of course outside where the actual reveal would be held. Since we have a square table, I folded the tablecloth in half and I loved how it made it more opaque. I also cut the chevron table runner and both the turquoise and silver tassel garlands in half so one half was on the table and the other was at the drink station. It worked out perfectly and was twice the decorations for half the price! Winning!

I will say, I had visions of putting the fruit and veggie dips into hollowed out pumpkins filled with bowls, but since it’s almost Thanksgiving, all the pumpkins are gone from the stores. I had some from my porch, but I didn’t want to take the chance of cutting one open and it being yucky. I kept them for outside and was ok with that. Still, I kept the food simple for budget purposes and so people could have a snack before going and grabbing lunch after the party. We had fruit with a cream cheese and whipped cream dip (with 2 drops of Orange Vitality essential oil- so delish!), a veggie tray with homemade ranch dip, the cutest little pumpkin deviled eggs (made by my awesome mother-in-law), and yummy puff pastry filled with sausage, cream cheese, and jalapenos (also made by my mother-in-law). Of course, no party is complete without cake, so we got assorted cupcakes and had a delicious punch to go along with it all.

We had our entry way set up with a fun chalkboard and our small end table, and I had a foam pumpkin for people to sign with paint pens with well-wishes for the baby, along with stickers I’d made with the pumpkins from the invitations and our name choices for each gender. We chose Amelia if our baby was a girl, and Lawson if our baby was a boy. I mimicked the chalkboard I’d made for Addie’s big gender reveal party and it was fun to see the differences between the two pregnancies so far!

I also bought some gorgeous flowers at H-E-B (shout out to the ladies in Floral who always do an incredible job) and they were beautiful on our coffee table. When I was getting groceries for the party, I got stopped so many times with people loving the flowers. Made me happy!

After everyone had their fill of snacks, the anticipation was so thick, so we went outside for our gender reveal. A sweet friend lent me a couple bales of hay, and I ended up using the semi fanburst garland, pom pom decorations, and our leftover Halloween pumpkins for the reveal spot! It was pretty windy but Mathew was smart enough to staple gun the decorations to the fence and it was perfect!

With Addie in tow (and without her vent, might I add!), we gathered everyone outside for the big fall gender reveal! I can not even begin to tell you the bundle of nerves that swept over me once we started walking outside. With Addie’s big gender reveal party we knew she was a girl before the party. We wanted to know during our anatomy scan so we could have the moment with just the two of us, and then we surprised everyone else at the gender reveal. This time, we had no idea.

All pregnancy long I “knew” it was a boy. Things were just SO different this time around and it was so easy for us to choose a boy name. The girl name? Not so easy. Once we’d picked a girl name we struggled (even until gender reveal day) to pick a middle name. When I was pregnant with Addie, I “knew” it was a girl and we easily picked a girl name. We struggled so hard until the day of the ultrasound to choose a boy name. Interestingly enough though, I thought our baby was a boy up until 18 weeks. I had an appointment with our doctor and we did a quick sonogram to ease my mind. Since we’d found Addie’s SCT at 18 weeks, I was a bit worried. The doctor and I looked at the baby together and he initially called the baby a “he”. But then, I mentioned how the ankles were crossed and I remarked that I slept that way and Addie does too so maybe it was a girl. Then, the doctor called it a “she”. It was likely by accident just because I was talking about girls, but I took it as a slip up and “swore” the baby was a girl.

When we went in at 19.5 weeks for our big anatomy scan, I had the tech tell my sister in secret the sex of the baby. She ordered confetti poppers for me and had them shipped straight to the house. Once we walked outside for the reveal, they were handed to us and I was shaking. Here’s how it all went down:

I can’t even believe it- can you? Our sweet baby is a BOY! We can’t wait to bring sweet Lawson Avery into the world in April 2018. I never would have imagined that I would be a boy mom, but I’m excited for this whole new world. Since Addie’s newborn stage was so atypical, I’m interested to see how we handle parenting a newborn AND Addie together. It should be a fun ride! Mathew and I were in SHOCK that the confetti was blue, and I won’t lie- I shed some tears. The good tears, of course! I can’t wait to see how this journey of ours unfolds!

Did you guess correctly? What was your favorite part of the gender reveal?

Filed Under: DIY, Lawson, Mathew ·

To the Mom Unsure How to Approach My Special Needs Daughter…

November 22, 2017

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen yesterday about the unfortunate event that occurred to our family. We were asked to participate in an interview for a woman filming various non-profits around town so we could help represent a local organization geared towards children with special needs. If you’ve ever seen us out and about, you know that it’s not an easy feat.

Mathew had a prior engagement and I asked my mother-in-law if she would come with us for the interview. What you may not know about Addie is that it takes 2 people to drive her places because of her trach and ventilator. One person has to drive and the other needs to stay in the back in case she needs to be suctioned, she cries (because of her bronchomalacia she can quickly turn purple and lose oxygen when getting overly upset), her trach becomes dislodged, or her ventilator circuit pops off. Not only that, but we have to pack many things just to get out of the house. A bottle of oxygen, a spare bottle of oxygen, her ventilator, ventilator charger, pulse oximeter, ambubag, extra ventilator circuit, extra suction catheter, 2 extra trachs (1 her current size and 1 of a smaller size), a suction machine, and of course the usual diapers, wipes, and snacks. Being pregnant has also made things harder because Addie is heavy and I lose my breath a lot easier because I have less room inside to breathe. All that to say- if we go somewhere, it’s because we really want to be there or need to be there because it’s so much work.

A post shared by Stephanie W. (@mathewsbambina) on Oct 29, 2017 at 5:54pm PDT

When we arrived at the location for the interview to be filmed, I took Addie and all her gear out. It easily takes 5 minutes to get her in her stroller just so we can get to wherever we need because we have to load up her and all of her equipment. The woman who was interviewing us brought her children to the shoot (which I totally understand, because #momlife) but her children were constantly staring at Addie. I brushed it off because children are curious and I tried to not let it bother me. That was until one of the children made not one, but TWO ugly comments about Addie’s appearance. Again, I understand it happens and children don’t generally have tact nor do they know how to react to a child with special needs. But, I was entirely taken aback when the woman never said anything to her child such as, “Honey, we don’t say ugly things to people.” She never even apologized to me or said, “Oh I’m so sorry. My children have never been around someone with special needs. I apologize for what he said.” Nothing. I was so offended that I asked if I could interview first because I needed to leave soon (which was true), and quickly did the interview.

As soon as I got into the car with Addie and had all her stuff unloaded, I lost it. I got into the car and just bawled. I bawled because I couldn’t believe the mother did nothing to acknowledge her child’s comments towards Addie, especially because we had gone through so much effort to be there on a particularly busy day. My mother in law happened to be there and drove back to the location and talked to the woman about how hurt we were, and as she did, I made this video on Instagram stories:

I had SO many of you guys comment and tell me you would be more conscious about talking to your children about those with special needs. Many of you also said you realized you needed to take action and talk to your children, but didn’t know how. Some also asked what exactly you should say in a public situation, and so many more of you asked me to blog about this to help bring awareness. So…here I am. Now let me mention- I’m no expert. I’m learning as I go along this journey, so if you’re a special needs mom and you have input on how you personally would do things, I’d love to read in the comments.

A post shared by Stephanie W. (@mathewsbambina) on Jul 20, 2017 at 5:06pm PDT

To the mom unsure how to approach my special needs daughter,

I see you. I see you and your children around town. I see your stares. I also see your curiosity. I see your wheels turning as you try to figure out in your mind if you should acknowledge us, quickly put your head down and walk away, or gaze away as fast as you see me noticing you. I see your child who is curious too and is trying to ask you questions. You’re frozen.

I want you to know something. I want you to acknowledge us. If I look your way and smile, I want you to smile back. And if I’m not smiling? Smile at me anyway because our family might be having a particularly rough day. I’m ok with you and your child having questions. I was once just a woman without a daughter that has special needs and I used to be curious too. I GET it.

A post shared by Stephanie W. (@mathewsbambina) on Sep 2, 2017 at 8:58am PDT

If your child is curious, please don’t shush them. Have them ask you their question, and feel free to come up to me and ask it yourself if you feel like your child may not be tactful or kind. Please introduce yourselves and acknowledge my daughter…because SHE IS A PERSON. Plus, she loves when people come up to her and smile and want to get to know her. Please don’t act like my daughter isn’t there. It hurts my heart and it’s insensitive. Treat her as kind as any other 3 year old.

Curious about her trach? I’m cool with that. You can ask me, “Why does she have that tube?” I’m happy to tell you that Addie can’t breathe on her own and her trach and her ventilator help give her breaths. I’ve had many children ask me about it and I will say I appreciate their faces of concern when they realize she can’t breathe on her own. Their compassion does my heart so much good because I know there are still sweet people in this world that show concern and care for my sweet girl.

A post shared by Stephanie W. (@mathewsbambina) on Oct 26, 2017 at 12:42pm PDT

Wondering why she may not look like a typically developing child? My daughter has hydrocephalus and has epilepsy. She also has vision deficits and has a cochlear implant because she used to not be able to hear. You may ask me kindly, “Can you tell me more about your sweet girl?” or “Is it ok if I ask you about your daughter?” Chances are I’ll say yes. I’m happy to tell you more about Addie and the 10 months that she was hospitalized. How we almost lost her several times in the middle of the night. How my baby has gone through more surgeries than I can even count (because honestly, I’m done counting.) How we’ve made amazing friends in the medical field and how Addie has multiple therapies DAILY so she can be the strong girl she needs to be. How doctors told me Addie would not be able to do so many things, yet here she is, kicking ass and taking names (sorry- there’s no better way to say it.) How I quit my job as a teacher to be by her side for 18 hours a day in that hospital. How I would sleep by her bed in the NICU after surgeries even though we weren’t technically allowed. Maybe I won’t divulge ALL of that in one sitting or in the store, but I’ll tell you the Reader’s Digest version for sure.

A post shared by Stephanie W. (@mathewsbambina) on Oct 27, 2017 at 10:10am PDT

Here’s what I’m not ok with though- I’m not ok with being ignored. I’m not ok with you not correcting your child if they say something rude. I’m not ok with you brushing off rude remarks as if they’re meaningless. I’m not ok with stares without a sweet smile quickly coming after.

Disabilities cover a wide range. Some are obvious like Addie who has a physical disability, or a child with a visual impairment. Other disabilities may be more “hidden” such as children who have learning disabilities or are on the autism spectrum. I want you to share with your child that no two people are the same and God made everyone special and unique. I want you to share that a disability defines no one. Just because my daughter or another child may have special needs, these kids are just like you and have feelings, likes/dislikes, strengths, and even challenges. I want you to share that children can be born with special needs or they can become disables from an accident or an illness, but they can’t “catch” it from my child. I want you to tell your child to be sweet and kind to my girl, and that she would love to be their friend. Your child should also know that children with special needs can do lots of things that they can! Addie plays soccer and is about to start cheerleading in the new year- how cool is that? She just may need help or adaptive equipment to help her, and that’s ok! I would also tell you, try to use clear, respectful language when talking about someone with special needs. “She has that tube because she can’t breathe on her own and needs help” is enough information for most children to get the concept of why Addie needs her trach. PLEASE make sure that you talk to your child about name calling or rude comments is NEVER acceptable and it hurts Addie’s feelings.

A post shared by Stephanie W. (@mathewsbambina) on Sep 23, 2017 at 9:24am PDT

Here’s what else I want you to know, especially if we’re already friends. Invite us over. Sure, it’s a lot of work, but boy, does our family love to be invited to things. Even if you “don’t think” we will be able to join you, it means the WORLD to us for you to have us over for dinner, board games, play dates, and birthday parties. Addie doesn’t go to school and is often forgotten because she isn’t around her peers much. She wants to have more friends, she just doesn’t have many opportunities. Thankfully, soccer and cheerleading have changed that, but we still find ourselves forgotten sometimes. Heck, invite yourselves over too! Mathew and I both work from home and we want you to come over! We love visitors and Addie always enjoys snuggling and playing with friends.

Love, Stephanie (aka Addie’s Mom)

A post shared by Stephanie W. (@mathewsbambina) on Sep 1, 2017 at 7:39pm PDT

There’s so much more I’ve surely missed, but I hope this is the start to some beautiful conversations between you and moms of special needs kiddos. If you know someone that has a child with special needs, reach out to them. Start a discussion and ask how you can learn to be more loving and accepting and how you can teach your children to be the same.

If you are interested in learning more about Addie and her story, make sure you add us on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates.

If you see a special needs mama in the store/at the zoo/ wherever, please be kind. Always be kind.

Filed Under: Baby VMW ·

A Greener, Cleaner Home with Marley’s Monsters (plus 4 easy essential oil DIYs!)

November 21, 2017

This post on A Greener, Cleaner Home with Marley’s Monsters is sponsored. I received products in exchange for my review.

With the holidays quickly approaching, I’m searching for unique gifts to give my friends and family. I love supporting small or local businesses and I happened to stumble upon one this summer on Instagram called Marley’s Monsters. Marley’s Monsters has friendly living essentials for the crunchy family, and boy, does that check off a lot of people on my Christmas list!

I immediately was drawn to their Unpaper Towels, their Cloth Wipes with the ReCap lid, the most adorable Glass Spray Bottle and Cover, and the prettiest facial rounds I’ve ever seen. We use so many paper products in our home and we spend so much money constantly buying them all! I am all about saving money and not only are these great for our family, but all my Young Living friends who are trying to make the switch to a greener, cleaner home. Once I got my hands on these products from Marley’s Monsters, I couldn’t help but make some easy essential oil DIYs for our house!

Marley’s Monsters Glass Spray Bottle and Cover and Thieves Household Cleaner Multipurpose Spray:

This glass spray bottle from Marley’s Monsters is so cute and I love that it has a cover so it doesn’t slip out of my clumsy hands. I use my Thieves Household Cleaner and pour 1/2 a cap full into my spray bottle and then fill it to the top with distilled water. I also added an additional 3 drops of Lemon essential oil for getting out tough messes easily. Because Thieves Household Cleaner uses Lemon essential oil, it’s necessary to use glass to store it in. Citrus essential oils are known to eat petrochemicals (the chemicals made to use plastics) so having a glass spray bottle is essential. I use this multipurpose spray EVERYWHERE in my entire home. Literally. If you look under my kitchen cabinet it’s the only spray bottle of cleaner I have.

Thieves Household Cleaner has replaced our glass spray, furniture spray, tub and tile cleaner, sink scrub, floor cleaner, carpet cleaner, stain remover for clothes, ring cleaner, and so so much more. If it needs to be cleaned, we grab our Thieves Household Cleaner and that’s it! One bottle lasts me an entire year (and I use it constantly!) so I saved a ton of money when I grabbed the Thieves Premium Starter Kit because it has TWO bottles!

Marley’s Monster’s Unpaper Towels and Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

Can I just tell you how much these Marley’s Monsters Unpaper Towels are saving us?! In our home, we’ve been using paper towels for everyone to dry their hands since Addie came home- because germs. Many people don’t wash their hands as long as they should to get the germs off their hands and when you use a hand towel, it’s likely filling with germs each time someone uses it. Yuck! In order to keep Addie healthy we made the switch to paper towels when she came home. We have spent SO much money on paper towels that it’s ridiculous. When I saw these insanely cute Unpaper Towels from Marley’s Monsters I knew I needed to get my hands on them. Not only would the Unpaper Towels save us money, but they would still help us keep germs at bay because guests would use them one time and toss them in a little laundry basket! Then, all we have to do is wash them (I put them in a little lingerie bag so they all stay together) and put them back on the roll! Super easy!

I always keep homemade foaming hand soap in all of our bathrooms, but especially in Addie’s bathroom. It’s easy to make, costs me pennies, and I don’t have to run to the store every time I need some. In a foaming soap bottle, add 2 tbsp baby castile soap, 1 tsp vegetable glycerin, and 8 drops of Thieves essential oil and 2 drops of Lemon essential oil (both found in the Premium Starter Kit!) You’ll find that when you make this soap, it’ll take you a minute or less and you can really use 10 drops of any Young Living essential oil to scent your soap!

Marley’s Monsters Cloth Wipes with the ReCap lid and Thieves

If you watch my Instagram stories, I make a lot of Thieves wipes. I usually buy Water Wipes and make my Thieves cleaner that way, but the wipes themselves can get costly month after month. I absolutely adore the Marley’s Monsters Cloth Wipes with the ReCap lid and decided to try making Thieves wipes with them. I wasn’t sure what it’d be like since they were fabric, but I love them so much! Not only are the cloth wipes adorable but they are sturdy enough for tough messes (my stove looks awful after I cook).

In a measuring cup I poured 1 cap full of Thieves Household Cleaner and then poured enough distilled water to total 1 cup. Then I just poured the mixture into my recap lid container with the cloth wipes and BOOM- I was done! I love using the cloth Thieves wipes on my tables, counters, stove, and yes- even to clean up dog accidents. The recap lid on this is AWESOME and makes it easy to pull out one wipe at a time. If you want to gift this for Christmas like I will be, make sure to tell your recipient that Thieves is non-toxic. The combo of the Marley’s Monsters Cloth Wipes with the ReCap lid and the Thieves cleaner are perfect for little ones to help around the house safely and easily!

Marley’s Monsters Facial Rounds and DIY toner

Although this isn’t cleaning related, I couldn’t help but try these facial rounds from Marley’s Monsters. I go through lots of facial rounds as part of my skincare routine and these were so cute that I couldn’t help myself! These rounds are made of 2 layers 100% cotton flannel in mixed prints and the flannel becomes more absorbent after the first few washes. I like to keep them on a cute little mini plate in my bathroom so I can just grab as I need. If you have a friend that enjoys pampering herself at the end of a long day, definitely grab these facial rounds! I have a whole Young Living beauty routine- wash my face with Orange Blossom Face Wash, scrub my face with the Satin Mint Facial Scrub, tone with my homemade toner, add my favorite essential oil beauty serum, and then top off with some Sheerlume moisturizer. These facial rounds work perfectly with my homemade toner and feel so soft against the face. They’re easy to wash too. I just throw them in a lingerie bag, wash and dry, and put back onto my little mini plate in my bathroom!

To make the toner you’ll need a 2 oz plastic spray bottle, unscented witch hazel, Lavender essential oil, Frankincense essential oil, and Copaiba essential oil (all found in the Young Living Premium Starter Kit!) With the plastic spray bottle I add 10 drops of Young Living Lavender, 5 drops of Frankincense, and 5 drops of Copaiba. Then, I pour to the top with witch hazel. Lightly shake and then spray onto your face. Wipe your face with the Marley’s Monsters facial rounds and you’re on your way to glowing skin!

If you’re looking to find a unique and sustainable gift for yourself or a friend or family member this holiday season, grab these goodies from Marley’s Monsters and a Young Living Premium Starter Kit. You absolutely won’t regret saving so much money and having less trash.

Which DIY with Marley’s Monsters and Young Living are you going to try? Which Marley’s Monsters product is your favorite?

Filed Under: DIY, product review ·