Nostalgia

How many children are you planning to have? We are probably going to stick with two, so little Anton is most likely our last baby. He's six months old, and watching him grow up is bittersweet. His milky smell, his round belly, his warm neck, his soft arms, his chunky thighs. I want to breathe him in, eat him up; motherhood is so tactile.
Sometimes I feel swept by a wave of nostalgic for these baby days, even as I'm experiencing them.
Anton, stay little, my little one!
Oh, my heart. So. In honor of all the soft and sweet children out there, we're giving away two $200 gift cards from The Honest Company, which makes safe, natural, non-toxic diapers, wipes, bath care and green cleaning products. Our family uses Honest for all our household cleaning, bath and baby needs, and I am so glad to have a brand we trust! (And how sweet are their winter patterned diapers with tiny axes?)
Plus, earlier this winter, Anton was fussy and Toby was cranky, and I finally realized it was simply because their skin was dry and itchy. (Forehead smack.) All that dry indoor heat was drying out their skin. So we now have a winter survival kit: lotion, body oil, healing balm; sensitive diapers and wipes, and an all-mighty humidifier. (Alex now has a Liz-Lemon-esque love of humidifiers and we have one in every room:)
For a chance to win, please visit The Honest Company and leave a comment below. Two winners will be chosen tomorrow at random. Thank you so much!

Bonus for all readers: The Honest Company is offering free shipping with a minimum purchase of $25 with CUPOFJOFREESHIP for the next two weeks. For the first purchase only.

P.S. A winter challenge, and would you ever decide NOT to have kids?
P.P.S. Feeling nostalgic for Toby.

(Photos by our friend Julia Robbs for Cup of Jo. Thanks, Julia! This post is sponsored by The Honest Company, whose mission I adore. Thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that make Cup of Jo possible.)

Mama/kid sleepover!

This weekend, to help cheer up the cold winter, my friends Sharon, Kendra and I decided to have a mama/kid sleepover! We figured it would be like taking a trip together but without having to leave town.
So, one afternoon, we all piled into Kendra's house uptown (her husband was on a work trip). As we arrived armed with travel cribs, backpacks and rowdy kiddos, she joked, "This is either going to be the best idea we've ever had or a total disaster."
After playing and exploring the neighborhood, that evening we made pizzas. Kendra's awesome tip: Buy fresh dough from your local pizza place! Smart, right? It was easy, cheap and tasted great.
The kids each made mini pizzas with sauce and cheese...
And we made some for the mamas, including one with cheese and grilled red onions. Delicious.
(Eeks! Those cheeks!)
But the highlight was the Nintendo Wii dancing game that Sharon brought. Have you played it? You try to do the same moves as the dancers on screen, and the game somehow tracks you to see how well you do.
Nailed it.
Here are the kiddos rocking out. They did it for HOURS while the mamas talked and ate cookies in the kitchen (and sometimes peeked in).
The next morning we had bagels and bacon. It was so much fun; I can't believe we had never thought of it before! We could really relax and hang out without having to rush home for naps and bedtimes. The only catch is that we got approximately zero hours of sleep that night:) But it was worth it.

Would you do this? Do you already have grown-up sleepovers? Or travel with friends? I'm so into it!