Friday's Fabulous Mom: Erin Wahba

Cashmere & Carrot Stick's Fabulous Mom for this week is Erin Wahba! 

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My name is Erin Wahba and my husband Jonathan and I are the proud parents of Ethan (4), Sophie (2) and expecting baby #3 at the beginning of July.  Our unofficial first baby is our 5-year-old cocker spaniel named Reilly, who we all adore but who at times, can be just as much work as the kids!

Our fabulous Mom, Erin, her kids, Ethan and Sophie, and dog, Reilly

Prior to having Ethan I was an elementary school teacher, but ever since having Ethan I have been a full time stay-at-home mom.  While being a stay-at-home mom has definitely been the most challenging job I have ever had, I wouldn't change it for the world. I treasure these early years with my kids and know that they go by far too quickly. That being said, there are the times when I'm quite envious of my husband's business trips where he is guaranteed both a full night's sleep (or two)  and some adult conversation.
  
What’s on your bedside table right now?
My Kobo! I love to read but life with kids just doesn't seem to allow me to get into books as much as I would like, or I do get into them and then with every spare second that I have, I'm jumping for my reader. If you are looking for two very different but equally good reads, I would highly recommend, "Room" by Emma Donoghue and "Secret Daughter" by Shilpi Gowda.  I managed to polish them off thanks to a four-day trip my husband and I were able to take (just the two of us!) about a month ago and I enjoyed every second of these two books.

Tip/Trick for getting those daily vegetable servings in:
Through trial and error, I have noticed that my kids tend to eat many more vegetables when they are not served with a meal.  Both my kids prefer raw veggies to cooked ones so I started serving the veggies as snacks and appetizers.  I'm not too sure why but veggies will be devoured as an appetizer while they will be picked at as a side!?  Yet another mystery of the toddler/preschoolers psyche!

Something you do as a Mom that June Cleaver would approve of …. And something she would raise her eyebrows at?
June Cleaver would be very proud of the fact that I make my bed every day and insist that my children also do so. Truth be told, when they are out of sight, the perfectionist in me can't help but straighten their sheets and pillows though. Something about a bed made first thing in the morning just sets the tone for starting the day off right.  Mrs. Cleaver however, might raise her eyebrows at the fact that if we are at the park or in the backyard and my son has to pee, I don't mind letting him go in a bush. Given that he sees this as a thrill and he often waits until the very last second when playing, it works for both of us.

Any words of advice for keeping all the clutter and toys from overtaking?
One of my biggest clutter challenges as a mom was what do with the artwork that my children bring home from both nursery school and Junior Kindergarten.  While I didn't want to part with all this treasured artwork of their early years I also knew that the anti-hoarder in me didn't want piles and piles of artwork in scrapbooks.  As a solution, I decided to take pictures of all my children's artwork.  I then print the pictures and put them in a photo album where I write the title of the work, the date they did it and where they did it.  I have found it to be a really neat way and clutter free way, to watch their progress.  The kids frequently pull our their artwork albums and LOVE looking through a book compiled of their creations. Of course, I do still keep a few favourite or sentimental cards or pictures and either frame them for our toy/play room or keep them in a memory box :)

How do you squeeze in the ever-so-important time for just you and your husband?
My husband and I have always enjoyed going out to dinner together - it's one of our guilty pleasures! However, with two kids, busy schedules and finding a babysitter, it really doesn't happen as much as we would like. Our solution to this problem is to frequently have in-house date nights on Saturdays where once the kids are in bed, we are able to enjoy some wine and cook a nice, slow dinner and even better, enjoy it without eating at the warp speed that usually occurs when the kids are around. We love this time together even if we do end up talking about the kids for most of the evening ;)!


Something special/unique that you do for your family that you hope they remember fondly in the future:
Something I do for my kids that I know they don't appreciate yet but hopefully will in the future is that I write them each a letter on their birthdays.  When I was pregnant with both of them and now with number three, I often wrote them short letters telling them how I was feeling and how excited I was to meet them.  Feeling overwhelmed with emotion and disbelief as my first born's first birthday approached I decided to write him a letter which included all the amazing things he had learned/done in his first year and expressed the emotions that I felt over that year as well as him turning one.  From that grew a tradition and each child now has a sealed letter for each of their birthdays which are stored in their memory boxes.  My hope is that they will enjoy reading them when they are old enough and that they will be kept as treasure of who they are, where they came from and just how much they were and are loved on the anniversaries of their births.
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As you can see just from these questions, Erin is a sweet and thoughtful Mom and has a wonderful family. Thank you Erin for sharing with all of us, some of the special things you do for your family and how you make a difference every day!