Wanna Sponsor???

I wanted to extend the invitation to anyone interested in sponsoring/partnering with See the Skyline for the month of March.

I am offering 2 different size spots:

- An Extra Large at 400x200  for $20 that allows for a give-away and specific write up about your shop or blog.

- A Large Spot at 200x200 for $15 that allows for a small write-up about your shop or blog.

- I am also offering a 3 Month Spot at a discount: Extra Large for $50 with one full post write up (2 general write ups for other months) and a giveaway, and a Large Spot for $40 which includes a large write up and 2 general write ups.

*Partnership will begin and last 31 days from the date your button is posted.

See the Skyline is now on the front page of Top Baby Blogs (out of thousands!!!) and receives dozens of traffic daily from that site alone.

I am planning on sponsoring 3 (here, here & here) major blogs this month, which usually drives 500-1000 hits to my blog from each site.

I am now averaging 6,400+ page views a month and am posting generally 5 days out of the week.

I have a new exciting featured planned with this and this blog.

And we have exponentially grown in the last year!

If you are interested, please send me an email at seetheskyline@gmail.com

these glorious moments...

naps in stretchy pants and mid-day sun

flachcards as entertainment before saturday brunch

my husband is so sexy. is so sexy. is so sexy.

LUNCH TIME KING.

a crazy (BUT SO FUN) night of babysitting our beautiful niece, and then resulting in some Nick Jr. to calm down the bunch. (sometimes you just gotta...)

foot in my face. grey dayz.

today has been nice. i cleaned our bathroom and kitchen, showered, drank some delicious coffee, ate lunch, AND went to costco before NOON! i seriously, SERIOUSLY felt like wonderwoman.


pss... you can vote daily! :)

the honest company /// a post for moms.

[caution! this is a post solely for moms. everyone else probably won't care.]

i've been eager to write this post for some time now. if you were like me as a new mom, you had so many choices for so many different things for your baby. Cribs, swings, bedding, carseats, and the most nitty gritty details: diapers. i was drawn to cloth diapering, because of it's benefits for baby, but knew it was pretty impractical being we lived in an apartment with neither a washer or dryer.

so when amos was born i tried it all: target, hugs, huggies, luvs, etc. - and finally settled into huggies only because it was the cheapest from costco. i knew it wasn't the safest choice for amos, but it was what i went back to time and again.

i have no problem with huggies. i have no problem with any diapers - as long as they hold the stuff where it's suppose to be held until i can come change it. but that's not to say i don't love when a BETTER and affordable choice comes along.

my friend brittany introduced me to this wonderful company, and i am now such a strong advocate for what they do and who they are.

introducing: the honest company





the honest company offers natural and non-toxic diapers and essentials, shipped right to your doorstep. the diapers are SO cute, and if you sign-up now they will include wipes into your monthly membership for free. each month you decide which styles of diapers you'd like to have, and they will send you a months supply. i love this idea, because having stuff come to me makes my life WAY easier.

not only do they have a diaper/wipes line, but they also have a family essentials bundle that can come to you every month. this bundle can be swapped out for any household items you are needing at that time. some of them include: dish soap, laundry detergent, bubble bath, baby shampoo and body wash, baby lotion, healing balm, hand sanitizer and more! all natural, all non-toxic, and all packaged wonderfully. 

you can start off with samples here of both their diapers/wipes and family essentials. it's totally free, and so fun to receive these little shoe boxes of love in the mail!





whenever you begin your membership you set up a nursery for each of your children choosing which diaper styles and family products you want shipped to you that month.

every product i have used so far - i love! the diapers hold well and stay together. the wipes get the job done. the shampoo and body soap smells like a dreamsicle and leaves amos' hair soft and clean. (if you've experimented with natural shampoos, you know sometimes they'll leave hair dry and brittle). the detergent cleans well. and every other product is effective (and safe!).

amos' cute diapers. i'm not sure how i feel yet about the skulls, but the others are cute - white is available too!

my first set of family essentials minus the healing balm (for rashes, etc.)

you can imagine how excited i was when i received my two huge boxes of goods in the mail. there is something about a package waiting for you, and spending time going to the park rather than conquering a random trip to costco or target to get diapers or detergent.

what can i say? they won me over!

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so listen, the honest company gives me nothing for saying these things. i'm just so happy with the results. together for both i pay $115.00 with free shipping and handling a month. i can even spread out my shipping date on both packages if i get low on cash or seem to have diapers or household goods left over. you can look at a price compare here to see how these totals stand up to the rest of the market (total: what you'd pay for diapers, wipes, detergent, etc. in a month + time and gas!).

i love these two info-graphics that show what's in regular disposable diapers, household cleaners and baby bath products.

anyways! i'd suggest all mom's at least try the free trial - even if you don't want to commit to the membership. (free stuff is fun!)

check out this video. [let me remind you - if you buy huggies or whatever, i don't think you aren't giving the best to your children. i did it with amos for over a year of his life. we do what we can and what works and what we can afford. i just wanted to post this to present another option to mother's - one i feel is unique to the essential buying experience.]




anyone else have products they use and love for baby and for the home?

so much love in the ESSS DEEE.

today was such a beautiful day. ricky, amos and i rolled out of bed fairly early and headed over to a new breakfast place near our apartment. we met some nebraskans, played with flash cards, and ate french toasts with carmalized plantains (weird but YUMMMMM).

then we relaxed while i made some lunch for our friends sharaya and her fiance matt, who were coming to visit after they had attended this marriage conference. they shared with us what they learned, and we ate some mexican salads (recipe to come. so simple. SO DELICIOUS.) while amos downed black beans and sweet corn, and sat so quietly listening. this was a beautiful rarity.

afterwards we headed to the beach so i could shoot some engagement photos. it's funny, because i feel like such a dope with my fancy camera and i turn dials and switches, so it seems i know exactly what i am doing. but i don't. at all.

i did capture some gems, and it was relatively easy because i mean - look at them. and my camera is smarter than i am. so i was happy they found some the could use.

these were my favorite - so dreamy with the sunset. love is just so magical.


we finished off the day with vanilla bean espresso icecream and amos in bed at 6:50PM. yes, i said it. SIX FIFTY PM. insane and glorious.

what a peaceful day!!!

and i am even more excited to attend our new church (really, this is an answer to years of prayer since moving away from ihop and into kansas city).

thank you Lord for this weekend.

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pssss. also! thanks so much for your votes. i'm on page one! so crazy. it's been great meeting so many moms through this network. if you'd like, you can vote once every 24 hours - and on every new post.

thanks for feedback also on the previous posts. love love love.

Good reads & the low-down

i finally went onto amazon to order both these books that i have been interested in for some time now. i'm so excited to share what i'm learning along the way, especially because i've read very little books on mothering. it's weird, because suddenly your like, "Woah! i'm a mom of a 1 year old and I should probably figure some things out." You make it through your first year in a daze, and now the real decisions need to be made: routines, parenting, discipline, guidance, etc.

I wanted to share some great quotes I've accumulated thus far from Give Them Grace, the first one I am reading:

Most of us are painfully aware that we're not perfect parents. We're also deeply grieved that we don't have perfect kids But the remedy to our mutual imperfections isn't more law, even if it seems to produce tidy or polite children. Christian children (and their parents) don't need to learn to be "nice." They need death and resurrection and a Savior who has gone before them as a faithful high priest, who has a child himself, and who lived and died perfectly in their place. They need a Savior who extends the offer of complete forgiveness, total righteousness, and indissoluble adoption to all who will believe. This is the message we all need. We need the gospel of grace and the grace of the gospel. Children can't use the law any more than we can, because they will respond to it the same way we do. They'll ignore it or bend it or obey it outwardly for selfish purposes, but this one thing is certain: they won't obey it from the heart, because they' can't. That's why Jesus had to die.

At the deepest level of what we do as parents, we should hear the heartbeat of a loving, grace-giving Father who freely adopts rebels and transforms them into loving sons and daughters.


Although we long to be faithful parents, we also rest in teh truth that our faithfulness is not what will save our children. 

These are all from the introduction, and though I've already reached Chapter 4 or 5, I want to slow down and really focus on a chapter at a time. Next week I'll cover some highlights form Chapter 1 and so forth.

Has anyone else read this book (I know Britney and Allison have)? If so, what are your thoughts and highlights?

--------------------------

other things:

>>> i'm excited to hop onto this next thursday (or next, next thursday) because I LOVE finding good deals.

>>> my beautiful friend sharaya has asked me to be in her wedding (WHAT AN HONOR. I AM GOING THROUGH WEDDING WITHDRAWALS) and I get to hang out with her and her fiancee tomorrow. i am so excited!
>>> i'm attending my grandmother's memorial service in late march in arizona. though it's not in the best of circumstances, i am excited to spend the week with my dad, his wife debbie, my sister, and my adorable nephew kyan. the Lord has continued to be so gracious and faithful to me in that i get to see my family every 2 months or so.

>>> i got my first diaper and family essentials bundle from the honest company this week. i'm excited to share with you about this company and their great products! we are so happy with it!

>>> amos is talking so much. i mean, it is so much fun. we read books every night and after i tell him what something is he can point it out the next night and generally repeat it unless it starts with certain consonants he's not comfortable with yet, even if he uses them in more basic words. (umbrella, monkey, etc.) AND he answers the random people at the store like this:

"Hello!" - to stranger

"Hi, little precious boy. You are so cute." - stranger

"Thank you." - amos

"Oh can you believe that! He answered me! And how are you doing today, little guy?" - stranger

"Fine." (doesn't exactly come out clear as day, but he's responding) - amos

"Well, have a great time shopping with your momma." - stranger

"Bye Bye!" - amos

It's RIDICULOUS.

>>> new words for the week that he now brings up on his own: hen + cluck cluck!, pig, shoes, fishies, door, snake, bee, & car(car).

>>> and he says, out of nowhere, LOVE YOU. (whaaaa?! motherhood is SO AWESOME!)

>>> he added some new foods this week that he really loved eating: swiss cheese, avocado, and black beans

oh - and i found amos like this the other day (don't worry, i was right there!):

 

oh that little boy!!!

a long post about beanie babies, hanson, blogging, and more (too much more)

as i was driving home on this super, super grey day i was thinking about blogging. i've been thinking about it a lot lately - why do i do it? what's my motivation? what's my goal? what are the means to reach that goal? and ultimately, is it worth it.

because, for those of you who do blog - and blog with intention, you understand it is as much enjoyment as it is job. like any freelance work, it's always floating above you like a dark cloud. and this cloud often settles right around you and all you see is perceived through the fog.

"Should I take pictures of this to blog about?"
"How can I take these thoughts, this book, that song and interpret and express it?"
"Oh no, it's been a week and I should update."

And, sometimes I get this overwhelming feeling that I'm cheapening this whole experience. Taking something that was once just an avenue to write, collect beautiful images, share my life - into a JOB. A job that carries some of the same emotions as hitting the alarm for your 9-5 and encountering rush hour traffic on the way home.

Have I ruined it?

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To start off I want to give a little history into my relationship with the internet and self-expression. These two things, at the end of the day, are blogging. It's the great collision of art and communication dished out to the fingertips of the entirety of planet earth. The amount of visibility and reach small business owners, authors, musicians, and more have longed for in the past is here. HERE. this is insane.

My dad was always techy. Always. I remember at a very young age dancing around to the beach boys and the eagles on a pretty elaborate sound system for the early 90's. Fast forward to grade school and I was one of the first in my class (probably in the mid-west) to have a decent computer with windows and the internet.

THE INTERNET. I don't know why, but my dad set up our first computer in my bedroom. I had a pretty large desk in there, and so it made some sense. I used it for a Crayola Art program and some other games, but I have the clearest memory of my father explaining to me THE INTERNET. I remember the dial tones, the beeps, and then the great connection to... the world. I don't know... to everyone. All i understood is that i could sit at my computer and (if i wanted to, which i never did) communicate to someone in china. that was awesome.

i started with an email address and did some googling (though back then it wasn't google - what was it? linda vista? ask jeeves? yahoo?) for my favorite thing in the ENTIRE WORLD. beanie babies. BEANIE BABIES. And I joined what would be the beginnings of the blogging world - email newsletters. I didn't care too much about receiving them, but decided to create my very own beanie baby newsletter. i can't tell you for the life of me what on earth i talked about. i'm sure i included various colored typefaces along with some sweet action clip art. i don't even know how i found people to be on my list or if they even read it.

fast forward to the next love of my life - HANSON. by this time there were thousands and thousands of fan pages with images and gossip and expressions of love. I remember most clearly spending any time on the internet reading fan made stories that involved the three members of the badn. I always loved reading and I loved Hanson - so it was perfect. These were probably considered blog formats also, as they were just normal people (if you consider star-struck 5th graders normal) writing stories.

i started my own hanson page on expage (does anyone remember that?) and eventually switched over to angelfire and taught myself HTML. by junior high i was less obsessed with hanson and more obsessed with myself. ;) so i changed my website to be about my life and my friends.

[side note] i just googled it and actually FOUND IT. IT STILL EXISTS. you can see my former and latter versions.

in the midst of this i spent lots of nights chatting on AIM with my friends and by high school we discovered xanga. this, i believe, was my real introduction to blogging.

I LOVED XANGA. I loved it. I loved sharing stories about my life and my heart. You can find my most recent xanga here. I had a previous one but after a pretty bad breakup, I deleted it and started a fresh one. Though it is now strewn with broken linked images and messy advertisements - those pages are some of my most heartfelt journal entries of that season of my life. some of my most raw writings were produced in the fire of that time-period. of singleness and maturity.

you can also see my precious husband's xanga, which was posted on before we had officially met. some of his simple posts, as i reread them even now, minister to my heart so deeply. some of my favorite of his entries are here, here, here, here, and here.

after xanga was dying out, i did most of my writings on facebook notes. when i moved to California and was engaged to ricky i discovered blogger (what i use now) - via google. it had the simplicity of xanga with more control and customization. and so my first, true blog was born.

and now we are at today: see the skyline. a blog brought with the original intent of writing about my relationship and journey with ricky - the byline being, "the buildings and the sun fell in love." as ricky represents the stable, the grounded, the geometric - and then i, the clouds, the ethereal, the floating arounddddd....

and together these create the beauty of the skyline.

overtime my blogged has evolved. i'm now a mother, and i don't have hours to write while sipping on lattes and listening to music. i read less, in these days, and so there is a new shallowness to my writing. i know this. it's more facts, less interpretations. i'm confident this won't be forever - it's just the season i find myself in. one of homemaking, meal-planning, block-tower buildings, and snuggles before the couple of minutes i catch for myself. more logistics than abstract thoughts (though they are there, thanks to a ever-growing husband and thought-provoking friendship... and of course the Holy Spirit.)

Why do I blog? Why, in my busyness, do I come back time and again to forums such as these? I think the main answer is self-expression - but one unto sharing. I can journal (and I do) but ultimately, I love sharing.  especially my heart and this path of finding joy and beauty in each new step and season. I love to capture the moment when Amos is away in thought, reading about giant whales or jungle explorations. I love freezing moments with Ricky - ones we will look back upon in 30 years. I love being forced to document, being forced to articulate, and being forced to put it all together. I love that my life is only a click away for my mother, and also for the one I shared a short season of connection with - friends from yesterday and today.

I love that I live in the tension of framing my life. Framing shots. Taking moments and making them a post. Hey, I know I'm not that good at it yet... but I'm learning. Bottom line, even though it becomes a task on my to-do, I really do enjoy it. It's one the best job I've had thus far (along the list of mother, graphic designer, and teacher.)

And to be honest with my readers, I really have a desire to turn this into something that is profitable. Not to be a sell-out, but because I love it so much. I love it so much, and want to put the work in. I want to create content that is thought provoking and original. I want to bring depth and the light-hardheartedness of weekdays with a 15 month old. I want to explore marriage, year after year, and the hardship and joys that come. I want my life to be a some-what open book, and I want to share it with you. And ultimately, I would love to one day make a profit through sponsorship - mostly, so that I can continue to stay home and continue to document and continue to express.

To those who know me personally, you know I step into vulnerability pretty easily. For the most part, that which is brewing within is accessible. The good, the bad, the ugly. I want to do this even more within this space. Yes, I love a good DIY - and I'm even more open to some outfit posts (because honestly, those are the blogs I creep on the most)... but I think more than anything I have to offer the day to day of where the Lord has placed me. I hope it can give some gauge to wives and mothers to be, and some serious laughs for the veterans.

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If you've read this you deserve a million gold stars. if you've read it and actually followed what i was trying to say and understand it - you deserve a universe filled with gold stars because that was some SERIOUS randomness unto rambling.

from us to you - we love you and thanks for sharing our journey. i'm grateful to share with you my days.

valentine's day & allllll that great stuff.

this valentine's day i told mr. ricky that i wanted the FULL SHABANG. that's right. i wanted roses, chocolates, pink, hearts, cards, etc. give hallmark a run for their money.

and i don't know why. it's not really normal for me to want to spend extra money on things like that, but this year it sounded fun. and so, even with that hint months in advance - ricky delivered. he's such a mighty, mighty man. ;)

so the friday before valentine's day ricky surprised me with an evening at the san diego symphony. it was well needed because i was having a day that looked a little like this:

poor amos' molar just made it's first appearance today - and so it's been a long road of aching for his little mouth.
 
and so, i got so excited i started getting ready wayyyyy to early waiting for him to get off work. even though i was still running around like crazy by the time ricky arrived, because getting ready with a toddler is madness to begin with. good madness, of course. ;) i even tried the no clamp curls i found on this blog (LOVED THEM) and busted out the red lipstick.

it was so fun to get dressed up - and ricky and i loaded up the car to drop off amos at his grandparents. we then headed out to grab a quick dinner with wine and then saw some insanely talented musicians. it was pure delight!

ricky actually got us free tickets from a classmate who invited us to a donor VIP party. we got some free food and drinks, and pretended to be filthy rich. ;)

after taking this shots for my mom (she wanted to see what i wore) - i realized my entire outfit is from different thrift store trips - and my dress is actually from high school.

then on valentine's day morning amos walked into the kitchen handing me a roses followed by ricky with a box of chocolates. even though ricky had school, we all caught a quick pizza dinner before his class where ricky gave me the best gift of all - a card he ("and amos") had designed for me and gotten printed. i loved it!

my pretty lame card to ricky.

i'm so thankful to the Lord for this man and the beauty, comfort, and confidence that comes in covenant marriage and knowing you will have the same Valentine year after year.




oh! and here's a remembrance to last years vday.
part I // part II // part III

blonde boys in superhero shirts & the promises of God.

i'm starting off with this awesome series of my blonde child in his new superheroes shirt (and showing off his muscles). mostly because it's been a rough week, and it's these little things i get to behold that i feel the Lord's smile.

a couple weeks ago, Ricky's uncle passed away. over the weekend we attended the funeral. it was a beautiful moment, as his uncle Leonard cried out to the Lord for forgiveness and salvation weeks before his passing. those final days we watched a new man arise from a dying frame. the Lord's compassion and mercy triumphed all. and even in his death, life has been brought forth.

on tuesday morning my grandmother passed away from ovarian cancer. it was expected to come soon, but even the expected leave an ache. an ache for immortal bodies and perfect fellowship. my grandmother was a beautiful woman. her heart grew over the years as i watched her grow in tenderness and love. she is my father's stepmom, and it took her many years to sign her cards with grandmother. over time she began to sign with the words i love you so, grandma irene.

i love my grandma irene. and i long for the day the Lord destroys the keys of death and sickness. when the old don't have to battle their decaying bodies and pain is a mere memory.

may the young and the old together say, "worthy is the Lamb who was slain."