HE'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE’S HOME!!!!!!!!!!! sweet readers, there aren’t words for how excited i’ve been to write those exact words. as many of you have likely noticed, ryan has been deployed for the past six months. it has been an incredible season for our little family.

it has also been really challenging not to share with you on this space. for his safety, and out of respect for his mission, as well as for Ellie & my safety, we made the decision not to post about the deployment on t&f or social media until he was safely home. we made this decision with great care and hope you can understand why.

that said, I’ve been writing posts about our experience the entire time he’s been gone. I wanted to write them as they happened, so they would be as authentic and honest as possible. I have those posts lined up for the next few weeks and am so excited to share them with you. as Ellie & I spend time with our amazing husband/dad, we hope you will read about this season of life we’ve just come through.

I do want to be really clear about a few things before we dive in – these posts ONLY represent our family’s experience on this deployment. they do not speak for military families, Navy families, or even our family in a future deployment. I’m quite certain even another family in Ryan’s squadron who just went through this exact deployment would have very different things to say about these same things – it’s really important we all understand that every deployment and every family is different.

what this means is, if you are a military family, I hope you find things that resonate with you, or even one small thing in these posts would be helpful to you, but I also know I have a lot to learn from you – and that your experiences have given you a different perspective. and if you are a civilian, I’m so grateful if you take the time to read these posts and try to understand what it’s like for a military family to go through a deployment. It means so much and I honestly think the future of our military depends on more civilians really engaging with and supporting military families. that said, please be careful if you have other military families in your life – know that reading these posts will not mean you understand what they’ve been through, it’s highly likely their experiences were quite difference. the branch of military (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force) means dramatically different length of deployments, communication capacities during deployment, levels of danger,  and communities of support – the continuum is quite broad.

my hope is these posts can be a prompt for some good questions, or deeper engagement on what a deployment really means, or for considering, in some new way, the service and sacrifice of those families, but reading these posts is not a substitute for actually going through one.

finally, I’ve worked really hard on these posts to ensure they are honest, authentic, and as vulnerable as I can be on such a public platform --- and to be honest, that’s nerve wracking on a lot of levels. this is an incredibly sensitive subject, not just for me, Ryan & Ellie, but for a lot of people – all I ask is that you’re respectful of that. please feel free to stop reading at any point, I will understand. if you disagree strongly, you are fully entitled to your opinion, but please remember how your words will affect others in the comments section. Because Ellie & I will be focused on spending as much time with Ryan as possible, I’m not going to be able to closely monitor the comments & ask you keep this a kind place.

with all those disclaimers (thank you for hanging with me!) I’m excited to dive in! the upcoming posts will cover the story of this deployment for our family, some of the really practical things we learned along the way, and a really important acknowledgement of the friends & family who walked with us through this season.

for now, we're going to welcome Ryan home -- today!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. i'll be on instagram from time to time documenting our family of three together in the coming weeks -- feel free to follow me at tulipsandflightsuits or here!

our little statue of liberty.

Click to read more ...

update from ellie!

hey guys!  so sorry i've left you hanging. this whole standing up thing is SO FUN, it's left me with so little time to blog! but don't worry, i'm back to fill you in on some of my recent adventures. first up, do you guys wear shoes? cause i've started & it's awesome.

 

sometimes, when you're running errands, you just gotta wear one shoe & take a nap -- try it, it's awesome. also, i go to target ... a lot. so, i try to get comfortable, kicking back with my feet up does the trick.

 

 

in september, we made a big trip to indiana & had the best time. i loved looking at the corn & hanging out with dear friends like carroll, who got me my first whole apple, which i LOVED!

 

 

mama & i especially loved meeting our sweet friend erica at trader's point creamery for lunch. it was such a perfect indiana fall day!

 

you know what's really great? new friends. maggie (she's 2 months old) came to hang out & we had the best time. sorry uncle jack & aunt molly that i had a hard time grasping she wasn't quite ready to come crawl around with me, i'm still trying to figure out what mama means when she tells me to be "gentle!"

also great is batting around empty trader joe's bags -- fun for hours folks!

i LOVE helping mama make dinner. she especially loves cooking while i want to be held (better view from up there!)  & .... we love a messy kitchen! my goal is always to see how many pots & pans we can possibly use in one night!

 

i take my responsibility to bring the fun into your life very seriously -- so, let's talk about two things. there is simply no way you can read this book without smiling & as for crawling thru this blue tube? seriously?! we should have one in every room of the house! good times, good times.

i am really good at finding TINY things on the floor and putting them in my mouth/giving them to my mama. it really boosts her confidence about how clean our house is!

the most important update is that i absolutely love pretending i'm a helicopter, because my daddy flies them & i am so, so proud of him. this is going to be the most exciting week of my life so far & i can't wait to share it with you really soon!

my mama took all these photos on instagram -- you can follow our little family's adventures at tulipsandflightsuits or here!

honest co.

so, we've really loyally used pamper's swaddlers since ellie was born. they've been a great diaper, but as i've read more & more about honest co. then tried their sample of diapers, i started to really think about all the chemicals in other diapers. every time i do the "smell test" to see if e needs a diaper change before we leave, i can literally smell the chemicals in the pamper's swaddlers. i remember being struck by the lack of that smell while we were trying the honest co. diapers and how comforting that was.

there's no way we can or will keep every harmful chemical away from ellie, but diapers are against her skin 24 hours a day, we want to be a little more careful. all the other eco diapers we've tried haven't worked as diapers & honestly, we're just not in a place where cloth diapering is going to work for us. so, as i price compared my amazon subscribe and save pampers diapers & wipes, we're going to pay a little more each month for honest co., but i think the peace of mind is well worth it. plus, the designs are so stinking cute!!! just placed my first bundle order -- will let you know how it goes! i've struggled with this decision, so just in case you are too, i wanted to share our story.

to all you not in the diaper business, sorry for this lengthy post on them, but don't worry, i'm not going to leave you hanging -- honest co.'s cleaning supplies are a-mazing!!!! 

above is e, speeding by in her trial honest co. diaper!

dreaming of christmas cards.

it's no secret that i'm a bit over the top about christmas cards. they're one of my favorite traditions of all time. so, by the time october rolls around, i'm thinking about them. a lot. our little family has a habit of having something late in the year that really should be the image on the card, so i'm never able to order them in september like i'd like to (i know, it's ridiculous). this year is no different. it'll be november before i can place our order, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming. 

we'll be going with minted for ours again. we're just over the moon about them. we did our save the date, ellie's birth announcement & this will be our fourth christmas card with them! (i'm actually thinking of stringing them all up on the mantle this christmas!). here are three designs i'm just loving (click on images for links). for me, the final choice is about uploading your image & then having this "yep, that's IT" moment. i can't wait!

it's almost the season! xo

my new classics.

perhaps it's because i'm closing in on 29 years old (!!!!), but i find i'm so grateful these days to have some trued & tried things i can count on to make my day a bit easier, more comforting, or nourishing. the seven items above are basically a daily part of my life right now & just in case you're on the hunt for some new classics in your life, i thought i'd share my favorites right now. 

1. my homemade latte is one of my favorite rituals. it says, "yes, it seems a tad early (again) to be up ellie girl, but i will sip this while we play & it will soothe my soul into waking up." i've tried a ton of different espressos and happily this one (which is the cheapest at our grocery store!) is my fav!

2. holy moly kodiak cakes have changed my life. we're pretty much having them every morning around our house -- they're full of real, healthy ingredients and freeze so well. they're ellie's favorite food ever & that makes me one happy mama. i order them in bulk from amazon, but just heard target has started carrying them -- hooray!

3. i mentioned this in my post on hostess gifts, but mrs. meyer's honeysuckle dishsoap, handsoap and countertop cleaner are serious-three-times-a-day-(at least) day brighteners for me. i spend an inordinate amount of time washing dishes/highchair trays & this makes that task all the brighter.

4. j. crew camp socks are my go to for fall. seriously warm. seriously soft & so durable. i just love 'em.

5.  i've used neutrogena face soap for over a decade. it's just the best.

6. my greatest clothing discovery ever are henry & belle jeans. i'd never even heard of them before i tried them on (post-baby, which says even more about how great they are). i would happily give up all my jeans for one pair of these. so, so comfortable & fit incredibly well. plus, they're from chicago, which is awesome.

7. pilot G-2 05 pens (is that specific enough for you? :) are in the same category as neutrogena face soap -- they're an old friend & i'll be a loyal customer for a long, long time.

alright -- spill the beans -- what are your classics? xo

happy weekend!!

happy weekend everyone! hope you have some fun plans! we've had some fun friends in town & are excited for a low key fall weekend. we'll probably spend a lot of times outdoors & then come inside with just enough energy to pull all our books off the shelf. let's head into the weekend with a few links...

first of all, congrats to comment twenty, kathleen, who won this darling giveaway! please email me at tulipsandflightsuits@gmail.com asap! everyone gets 10 percent off their order this month with the code TULIPS2012. hooray!

clearly motherhood and balance in life as a woman have been on my mind -- much to consider in these three pieces: the balancing act, why women should stop trying to be perfect & the mom stays in the picture.

love, love, love this print!

sweet downloadable anchor tags!

you might need to have pumpkin cinnamon rolls this weekend.

i'm always up for a new chili recipe!

take good care of yourselves this weekend sweet readers, see you back here next week! xo

a giveaway!

i have exciting news for you sweet readers on this blustery monday! remember when i linked to this precious dress a few weeks ago? well the lovely folks behind sewn natural reached out & offered to do a giveaway here on t&f for one of their precious baby bibs!!

personally, i would go for this traffic one, but you might like bicycles, sheep or elephants (oh my!). all you have to do to enter is mosey over to their etsy store & let me know in the comments which one you'd choose. how perfect for your little one or for the favorite little person in your life this christmas.

even better, they're offering 10% off anything in their store for the rest of october for all t&f readers! just enter TULIPS2012 at checkout! (you might need these balsam sachets to tuck in your drawers!)

xo

ellie's favorite game.

we usually play this game about a hundred times a day. it's pretty simple: i lay on the ground. then ellie climbs all over me. & when i fall "asleep" she wakes me up by shrieking (usually right in my ear) and giving me "kisses," which are sort of like being licked by a saint bernard/mauled by a bear all at once.

some day she will want to go ride bikes with her friends & spend the night at their houses & do her homework alone in her room -- for now, all she wants to do is play on the ground with me. i'm going to really try to soak it up.

i also love these photos because my sweet friend & ellie's godmother made us this gorgeous quilt -- which is truly one of the most beautiful/heartfelt gifts we've ever received. thank you so, so much to val for all these photographs -- our little family is going to cherish them for a long, long time! xo

update from ellie: the pumpkin patch.

 

 

hey guys! so, little public service announcement for you: you need to run, not walk, to your nearest pumpkin patch. seriously, what are you waiting on?!?! i know you need to pay the bills, but you also need to live a little & let me tell you the living is really good at the pumpkin patch.

my good buddies jackson, sophie & i went to kick off october & had the BEST time. & the straw maze? holy moly that takes the wonder of crawling really fast to a whole new level. also, we didn't plan the matching overalls, but it sure did work out for us. i think our three moms collectively took over 600 photos (that may be undershooting it) in the hour we were there.

best part? you get to bring a few pumpkins home. i literally get the giggles everytime i see them on our front porch. note to our mamas -- way to go on the pumpkin patch, you made that monday count & we're grateful. i heard something about christmas tree farms?! i think that adventure is calling our name!