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! Update: The two winners have been emailed. Thanks for playing.

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.)

Getting massages at home!

When the dating and relationships company HowAboutWe reached out to me about going on a NYC date, I really wanted to say yes. But the catch was: Alex and I are pretty homebound in the evenings. We typically put both kids to bed, then eat dinner and pass out ourselves. We miss date nights! We are so boring! We have watched so many 30 Rock reruns!
But then it occurred to me: What if we could have our date at home? I checked out their site, and then I saw it. AT-HOME COUPLES MASSAGES. SAY WHAT?!
Amazing, right?! Who knew that was even a thing?! We were pinching ourselves. Although HowAboutWe began as an online dating site, they've since launched HowAboutWe for Couples—where they help couples find awesome dates. You browse their list of dates, book the ones you like, and go. They take care of all the details. It's great for people who want to do exciting offbeat stuff but don't have time or energy to plan everything themselves.
After living in New York for twelve years, I thought I had figured out almost everything there was to do here. But I was surprised to see dates I’d never thought of: couples astrology readings, old-school Brooklyn food tours, gondola rides in the East River...and, of course, at-home couples massages.
So, after both boys were in bed, we cracked a bottle of rose and put out bowls of nuts, olives and kettle chips...
...and shoved the toys to the side of the room. :)
Two really nice and friendly massage therapists arrived and set up folding massage tables in our living room.
We provided our own sheets and towels, and they put on relaxing spa music with sounds of rainforests and ocean waves.
Needless to say, it was such an incredible date and definitely the coolest night we've had in ages. What a luxurious treat!!! I've been a basketcase recently with a toddler and newborn, so it was so amazing to do this for ourselves and then just roll into bed after the massage (next to Anton's co-sleeper, haha) instead of commuting home.
I'd highly recommend HowAboutWe for Couples, which has so many fun date ideas. You can sign up for free and browse their dates in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle (and they're expanding to new cities soon). BONUS: Get $50 off your first date through this link, until December 31st. Thanks so much, HowAboutWe!

(This post was sponsored by HowAboutWe, a service we now plan to use all the time. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Cup of Jo possible. Photos by our friend Julia Robbs for Cup of Jo, who stopped by at the beginning and left once the massages started haha. Definitely one of the funnier/more surreal blogging photo shoots:)

Ricotta, Honey & Provolone Crostini

Frankies Spuntino is a cozy Italian restaurant in the West Village, owned by two guys named Frank. All their food is rich and delicious (our favorites include the meatball sandwich and cavatelli with sausage), but the secret star of the menu are these Ricotta, Honey & Provolone Crostini. THEY ARE JUST SO GOOD. So! I've been trying to reverse engineer them so we can make them at home...Read More >

Snacks around town

Now that Anton is almost seven weeks old, I'm starting to get the hang of exploring the city with two little dudes. We've had some chaotic moments (yesterday Toby was stuck in a bucket swing because I was carrying Anton and didn't have free arms to get him out!), but overall things are getting smoother.
One thing that makes things easier is having a stash of yummy snacks. When Anton is hungry, I'll breastfeed in public and always immediately get hungry like the wolf. And my man Toby is always starving:)
This is his "may I please have a snack" face.
Our go-to snacks are from NatureBox. They're a snack subscription service, and they send you five bags of natural snacks every month. Our favorites include guacamole bites, blueberry almonds, banana chips, dried apples and whole-wheat raspberry figgy bars. Toby loves them all, and the snacks are so much healthier than other snacks we’ve eaten in the past. You can choose the exact snacks you want (they have more than 90 different kinds) or let them surprise you.
You can sign up for the regular NatureBox (5 bags for $19.95), the Family Snacker (10 bags for $29.95) or the Professional Snacker (20 bags for $49.95). As I've mentioned before, I initially wondered if the snacks seemed expensive, but they're actually comparable to buying from Whole Foods or gourmet groceries. It works out to between $2.50 and $4 per bag, which is amazing.

Bonus: Get 50% off your first box with the code CUPOFJO (so you'll enjoy five bags for $9.95), if you'd like to give NatureBox a taste; good for two weeks.
(This post is sponsored by NatureBox, whose mission and snacks I adore. Photos by Julia Robbs for Cup of Jo. My shirt and bag are from Madewell, my sandals are Everlane, and Anton's baby carrier is a BabyHawk Mei Tai)

Family photos

Now that we're a family of four, our friend Julia Robbs came over to take a few photos. She shot us at our apartment, just hanging out, as usual.
Amazing to think these two will be brothers and friends all their lives.
Alex and Toby have been spending so much time together these days, and I'm so grateful to watch their relationship grow even sweeter and deeper.
Lucky Toby has also gotten 8 million new "big brother" presents from friends! You've never seen so many toy cars and taxis:)
Remember this photo of Toby? Such a flashback!
Thank you so much, Julia! What a gift to have photos capturing these dreamy, hazy, chaotic, wonderful early days. xoxo