just Jen. /  by jen geigley

I don't know what is going on lately. Shit is weird. Maybe it's because Mercury is in retrograde. Or maybe it's the full moon. Both of my kids were awake at all hours of the night last night, so I know something is up.

I'm sure no one else noticed, but last week I had a moment of 'I'm kind of over being this 'heyjenrenee' person online' and the next minute I had typed a new domain name into Blogger (just for fun) and wham!! Before I knew what I had done, I had accidentally managed to delete my entire blog.

And I couldn't get it back. There was no amount of Google/Blogger help boards that could fix what I had done. If you typed in heyjenrenee.com, all you would get is a big blank error page. Gone! And after writing here for all these years (since 2006, to be exact) ... I had a moment of 'Huh. Maybe I'll just stop blogging.'

But that felt weird, too. So, for two days I fought to reclaim my domain. So to speak. I had to get it back. I didn't want it to end. And after two days of reading all about 404 errors on Google + CNAMES on help boards, I figured it out. I held my breath, plugged in a bunch of numbers that I didn't understand, waited an hour for my DNS settings to activate and I was back. I was stoked. I got my blog back.

Why am I telling you this? I've been asking myself why I'm blogging. Again. (I've done this before.) I'm re-evaluating things. I'm going through a major re-design of this lovely space that I lost and then worked so hard to get back. It's going to be better. And eventually, HeyJenRenee may redirect you to a new blog with a new name. Or it may not. Either way, it will still be me. Just Jen. Still here. Why am I here? Because I enjoy being here. Because I can't stop now.

Sabrina Ward Harrison said it far better than I ever could.

'I believe we must create what we most need to find. I don't aim for pretty, I aim for release. We have to make room for our life in progress. As women, we must be heard along the way. We must share how it really feels, what we know but can't place. We must take a deeper breath and let go. Trust yourself. Leave ripples.'

randoms. /  by jen geigley

How's it going? What's new? I've been feeling a rush of creative energy lately; I'm just not entirely sure what to focus on. I have a lot of little ideas in my head ... but they're just marinating for now. Life is a little scattered around here, so I'm sure things will fall into place eventually. Here's what we've been up to.
Lovely play-dates.
 Coffee putting a smile on my face and the warmth back into my body.
Rolling through the school drop-off line in my pajamas. (I swore I would never do that, yet here I am.)
 Meeting up with new friends at Mars Cafe.
 Striped paper straws. Making me feel all fancy.
 Cat-girl.
 And cat-naps. New teeth. And 12-month shots.
Orange couches.
Blue eyes.
 Big bites.
 And bright-on fashion choices.

What's up with you right now? Does winter have you in a funk? Are you feeling a little scattered like me?

party x 2 /  by jen geigley

Our house has been a party house lately. Check these two out, doing the birthday party thing x 2. Their birthdays are both in February, so we had a family party for both of them on the same day.
 Bowie's first birthday cake was Vespa/scooter themed. Which is no surprise if you know our family.
I found a scooter cookie cutter here and made little fondant cut-outs for the top of his cake. I used Wilton rolled fondant for all of the shapes and layered them on top of buttercream icing.
Lo's cake and cupcake theme was LaLaLoopsy, once again. (Check out this post if you want to see her other LaLaLoopsy party with her friends.) I sort of attempted a 'his and hers' cupcake stand.
Lo's pink/chocolate cupcakes had striped paper straws with LaLaLoopsy pencil toppers on top. So easy and super cute.
Bowie's cupcakes were topped with the same striped straws and little paper flags.
This simple felt 'happy birthday' banner from the Spritz party supply line at Target. I can see myself using this for years to come – the bright colors will go with any party theme!
I made a quick garland out of painted clothespins and Bowie's monthly pics from his first year and hung them over our fireplace.
And just like that ... they're both a year older. Happy birthday to my babies. I love having these parties for you (and I hope you love them, too.)

one. /  by jen geigley

Today, my baby boy turns one. Can we just freeze time for a sec? I know, I know ... I just posted about Lo turning six. My babies have birthdays exactly two weeks apart. My good friend, Yana, took these photos of our family when Bowie was about six months old. I cannot for the life of me comprehend how it has been a whole year since Bowie was born. This has been the fastest year of my entire life.

This baby is quite possibly the happiest baby you have ever seen. He will greet you with a giant smile, every single time. He is a joy. He is rambunctious. He bangs on things. He rolls ... everywhere. Around our whole house. He babbles at us and does funny little tricks. He has four teeth. He gives slobbery kisses and says 'dada' and 'this' and 'that' and does baby-sign. Sometimes he's up late at night but I know those rough patches will pass. He smells so good. He is a super snuggler and will lean in and snuggle himself into my face or shoulder. I think you would call it 'nuzzling.' He nuzzles. And when he does that I hold him close and enjoy it. I try to preserve every single precious second into my brain. (Don't we all do that?) He is the sweetest thing. And today, he is one year old. Oh, my little baby, do not rush through this life. I'm being totally selfish here, but just hold on.

Having a baby one day and a one-year-old the next is a funny thing. It's a wonderfully fun and happy time, but totally bittersweet. It makes me think of a letter I read by Jill Krause (that she wrote to her future self.) It sums up motherhood and the passing of time beautifully. 

"Even though you were tired and challenged, exasperated and overwhelmed, you knew then that you would miss these days... most of them, at least. It was a truth that was hard to live with, and most of the time you ignored it because there was nothing you could do about the passing of time. If you spent your days mourning the ones that had gone by, you'd miss out on the days you were living in.
You knew you were on a light rail, moving at speeds you couldn't comprehend. You had no control over the ride that brought you to where you are today, but believe me when I say you searched so very hard to find the emergency brake.

Please know, please remember that you tried to savor that time. Be at peace, knowing you spent late afternoons curled up with them on the couch, that sometimes you just sat and watched them move and run, that occasionally you took inventory of all the things they'd learned in the last week, and that you appreciated your time with them the best you knew how. Know that despite your very best efforts, there was no way to freeze time.

I promise you, you tried."

Yup. I'm on a light rail that's moving at speeds I can't comprehend. But I'm content knowing that I've been as present as I could be with this little one ... I've watched him and observed him and marveled at him and loved him. Every minute that was humanly possible.

Happy birthday to my boy. And happy birthday to the other moms out there. Is your baby turning one, too? You made it. Congratulations. That first year is a big one and you did it. Happy birthday to your little one ... happy birthday to you, too.

xo.

timestamp: a look back /  by jen geigley

One last look at this baby's first year of life; photos of him on the 16th of each month for one year (since he was born on the 16th.) Here you go. Watch Bowie grow from a newborn into a one-year-old.
 
Wow. In the blink of an eye. He turns one this Saturday. (Want to see how much my kids look alike? Here are some of Lo's monthly pics from back in the day.)

Lo's LaLaLoopsy birthday party /  by jen geigley

Last weekend, we celebrated this sweet girl's birthday with a LaLaLoopsy party. It was way fun.
We had her party at Menchie's Frozen Yogurt, one of her favorite spots in town.
And what a fantastic spot to have a party! Everything was set up so nicely for us in the party room, and I love the awesome wall mural. We brought some of Lo's LaLaLoopsy dolls to use as decorations. Want to see some of our LaLaLoopsy party ideas? Here's what we did.
My new favorite party supply is striped paper straws. These made fantastically easy and colorful cupcake toppers. We used these paper punch-out circles on cupcakes for Lo's party at school.
And then I used paper straws again for her party with these LaLaLoopsy pencil toppers.
The pencil toppers fit perfectly on the straws and looked super cute on top of the cupcakes.
I also used a few of the little animals on these spools that I wound with yarn as table decorations.
 For party favors, we made a bunch of beaded necklaces out of the Loopsy pencil topper heads. 
These were a cinch to make. I bought a couple of packages of tiny screw eyes at the hardware store and screwed them into the top of each LaLaLoopsy head to make them stringable. And voilà.
The striped party favor bags are from the Spritz party supply line at Target. I stapled the bags shut with bright-colored pieces of ribbon and covered the staples with big plastic buttons.
And the cake! Oh wow. Let me just say that I didn't even really have a plan for this cake. Lo asked me months ago for a big LaLaLoopsy head on her cake. And up until the night before the party, I really had no idea how I was going to do that. So this was an experiment that with a little luck ended up looking pretty okay! I made a cake in a round 8" pan and frosted it with regular blue buttercream frosting. And then I got to work with the fondant. This part always scares me (and maybe fondant intimidates you, too) but it's a lot like play-doh. I used Wilton ready-to-use fondant in a variety of colors, a cutting board and a knife. With some patience and Lo's doll sitting next to me on the counter for reference, I cut and molded the shapes I needed and pieced them together on top of the blue buttercream. It was a labor of love.
I found this Wilton fondant/gum paste mold and it was perfect for making the ribbon, rick-rack and button trim for this cake.
Anyway, back to these sweet girls at Menchie's. They had fun.
 And Menchie even made an appearance! So cool.
Of course, this was the whole point of having the party at a frozen yogurt shop. What little girl doesn't like to pick out her own toppings?
The Menchie's staff was so awesome to us.
Not only were they super nice and helpful, but they hooked us up with coloring pages, balloons, yogurt swirl hats and all kinds of cool stuff.
 Make a wish!
Serious fun.

Party details: 
•  party dress - MishaLulu
•  beads - Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Sprinkled Pink on Etsy
•  LaLaLoopsy pencil topper set (for necklaces and cupcake toppers) - Amazon
•  doll stands - Michaels
•  cupcake topper 2" circle printables - LaLaHeaven on Etsy
•  party favor bags - Spritz party supplies at Target
•  striped paper straws - Spritz party supplies at Target
•  buttons and ribbon - Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics
•  fondant for cake - Wilton
•  fondant mold – Wilton
•  party held at Menchie's Frozen Yogurt shop

around the house, part 2: the mess /  by jen geigley

Yesterday, I posted some photos of my house. The clean and nice-looking parts of my house. And then I had a bunch of people email and comment saying 'Oh! Your house is so clean! But, you have little kids!' And then I realized I was sort of being one of those bloggers that you see on Pinterest or wherever who posts photos that are not very realistic. Right? And while I do usually try to keep most of my house picked-up, I am by no means a great housekeeper. Bo is super good at keeping our lives uncluttered. I will admit that I have become a little bit better with not letting things get out of hand in recent years, only because it makes me feel really overwhelmed when my surroundings are crazy and messy. I hate that feeling ... but it happens. Right now, I have a pile of laundry that has been waiting to be folded for at least three days. So, for everyone who asked for it, here are some photos of ... THE MESSES.
This is the mail pile that sometimes grows up to twelve inches high before we go through everything. Plus Hello Kitty temporary tattoos.
This is our junk drawer area that has migrated to the counter top. We have a lot of pairs of scissors.
This girl likes to make art projects every 15 minutes. She leaves blobs of paint/glitter/glue wherever she goes. (But I'm cool with that.)
 She also likes to eat snacks in every room in the house and always leaves a trail of crumbs in her wake.
There are always three million baby toys within arms' reach. Under the couches. All over the living room. But this is okay, too. Baby needs to play! Just watch your step.
I usually have two or three knitting project bags sitting around. And right now, our house is full of Girl Scout cookie boxes.
Magnets. Lists. Box tops for education.
 There are always various toy/clothing explosions in each of the kids' rooms.
 There's usually a decent-sized stack of knitting magazines and notebooks on the nightstand.
And this is Lo's art supply shelf.
 Bowie is my little book re-arranger.
 And my sweet potato spitter.
And Cheerio thrower.

So, of course I wish I lived in a Dwell magazine photo spread, too. Don't inspect my baseboards or check under furniture for dust bunnies. My 'around the house' pics from yesterday? Sometimes I clean my house and it stays that way for a little while. The rest of the time? Well, you know. Our house is lived-in. Some rooms are clean and some look like they've been vandalized. With piles of laundry and toys and crumbs on the floor. It's normal. And that's cool with me.