It's imperfect, but I love our picture wall. We mixed black and white, color photos, and drawings to make a special spot in our home. That's a lot of love in a small place.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
it's friday
And do you know what we do on Fridays? When you are two... you sit on the curb watching the big kids play with your Elmo backpack, hockey stick, and your sister's ball.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
tears and love
Last week, with tears in his eyes, my son told me that he missed me and that he wanted to spend time with me. Long school days, busy schedules, and the immediate needs of his younger siblings were preventing us from quality time together. I cried. But after the tears I remembered that I am a mom, like all other moms, who has hard days and who is learning how to be a mom through their first child. I am so grateful my first child loves me enough to miss me and loves me enough to hold my hand in public when we were finally able to spend one-on-one time together. Trying to raise well-rounded children can be challenging and schedule oriented, but a gentle reminder of how important your affection and undivided attention is in their life can go a long way. It's hard work to be a mom, but it's the most rewarding job in the world (at least I think so).
Monday, January 23, 2012
what we did
This is what my hubby and I did this weekend
A little time shared together while children slept.
Yummy and so easy.
Yummy and so easy.
Friday, January 20, 2012
friday already?
Happy Friday!
What is it about my kids and sugary faces that makes me melt?
I saw this pin on Pinterest and loved it:
Sometimes we just need to let it go and make room for much lovelier things.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
i made
My hubby is on a healthy eating and exercise kick I'm so proud of him and his weight loss. To help him I set up an oatmeal bar on our counter for breakfast. Of course I used mason jars to store everything in. It's easy for him to access all the ingredients quickly in the morning. I have like six jars lined up. Anyhow, today I was dying for a snack. And so I took all of his jars and made myself some homemade trail mix. I used craisins, almonds, and a few chocolate chips. It was so good. But the possibilities are endless. Great snack for the stay-at-home mommy.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
things i am loving today
So delicious and easy!
Having a girl to put on a ruffly skirt and polka dot top.
Wish I had this outfit too.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
talk about lovely
I just found this lovely room via Facebook. Torey and Jeff posted pictures of their new nursery designed by Benedict August. Are you serious? I am just in love with every detail in this gorgeous space. You can go to their blog to see more pictures. Inspiration everywhere.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
no more blahs
Right after New Year's Day, Design Mom posted about the January Blues. You know those "blahs" you get after the holidays? I was definitely having them, so her post gave me inspiration to perk things up a bit. I got out a string of party lights and put them up. I love them and the white strings make them feel less like Christmas lights and more like twinkle lights. There is a good chance I will keep them up for months to come. Besides the lights, I already have a few projects in line for sprucing up a piece of furniture and making something new.
Monday, January 9, 2012
fun family game
We just started playing the Disney Hedbanz game. So fun! It's supposed to be for ages 7+, but we play with my 3 year old and my 6 year old and just adapt it to our own rules. We don't use the Mickey Chips and once the timer goes out we give hints. Basically we play with no winner, but everyone gets to guess. Your children just need some Disney movie knowledge.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
giveaway over on facebook!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
what we made
Do you remember when I made this toddler bed back in 2009 (blog post here)?
Well, we got that bed out of storage today for our big 2 year old boy! Right away I noticed something was missing, we no longer had the guardrail (not pictured) that we used for our other two kids. I'm pretty sure we paid like $30 for it and I was not interested in purchasing a new one to be used for such a short period of time. So right away we started thinking of ideas of how to make our own. I thought about making one of those pillow guardrails that I have seen, but I knew that after buying fabric and stuffing, it wouldn't be very economical. And then I did what one of my favorite things to do is....I decided we would just have to make it out of what we already have.
And so, here is what we did!
I took his crib bumper and cut it. I kept the padding inside and took out some of the seams. Then I sent Mark to Home Depot to buy some wood. He spent $4.71. That is what this whole project cost us.
I slipped the wood into the bumper and then sewed up one side. I also cut off all of the ties.
Then we took some wood and attached the new guardrail to the bed.
And voila, a padded wooden guardrail for $4.71. We really wanted to get the project done so our little guy could sleep in his new big-boy-bed tonight, but if we had more time I might have put padding on both sides of the guardrail (not just the inside where it already was) and I might have stained or painted the wood. But to be honest, I love it just as it is!
I think there are so many times when we go out and buy new things, when we could have either used something we have, or think of a better solution. It was so easy, now here is to hoping that training him to sleep in the bed will be a piece of cake too.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
carry me
This beauty is my LAMB purse that I have had for a little over two years. I love it but it is
wearing thin and I am pretty sure I have six months or less with it. I know that it's almost
time to find a new purse. I am a one-purse woman. I would rather buy one well-made purse
then have a bunch. So whatever I pick has to last a couple of years.
Here is what I have fell in love with (so far):
What do you think?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
delicious
For years this has been our favorite recipe to make at home for a special occasion. It's beyond delicious!
Chicken Tequila Fettucine- from California Pizza Kitchen
Ingredients:
1 pound dry spinach fettuccine (or 2 pounds fresh)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (2 tablespoons reserved for garnish)
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper (seeds and veins may be removed for milder flavor)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (reserve 1 tablespoon per saute )
1/2 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade)
2 tablespoons gold tequila
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/4 pound chicken breast, diced 3/4 inch
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
1/2 medium green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
Preparation:
Prepare rapidly boiling, salted water to cook pasta; cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes for dry pasta, approximately 3 minutes for fresh. Pasta may be cooked slightly ahead of time, rinsed and oiled and then "flashed" (reheated) in boiling water or cooked to coincide with the finishing of the sauce/topping.
Cook 1/3 cup cilantro, garlic and jalapeno in 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add stock, tequila and lime juice. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until reduced to a paste like consistency; set aside.
Pour soy sauce over diced chicken; set aside for 5 minutes. Meanwhile cook onion and peppers, stirring occasionally, with remaining butter over medium heat. When the vegetables have wilted (become limp), add chicken and soy sauce; toss and add reserved tequila/lime paste and cream.
Bring the sauce to a boil; boil gently until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thick (about 3 minutes). When sauce is done, toss with well-drained spinach fettuccine and reserved cilantro.
Serve family style or transfer to serving dishes, evenly distributing chicken and vegetables.
Monday, January 2, 2012
it's fun to have a girl - birthday party
Last Friday we went to a girls-only birthday party at Disney Studio 365 in Downtown Disney. Let's just say that the four little girls who went were in heaven! They got their hair done, with a touch of makeup, and a great goody bag to take home. I'm not sure I have seen anything so cute. Afterwards we went across the way to Naples for pizza. It was the perfect party for four sweet little girls!
The girls in their chairs
My girl getting fairy dust sprinkled on her hair
Eating pizza at Naples
Piper and the birthday girl.
Happy Birthday Taelor!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
christmas pictures
This tradition was passed down from my mom. Each child has their
own wrapping paper. There are no tags on any presents under the tree
and they don't know their paper until Christmas morning.
Each child has a box from Santa (that we keep from year-to-year) and on
Christmas morning Santa leaves an extra little gift in their box.
You can barely see them here, but we always leave a white rug right
under the fireplace so we can catch Santa's boot tracks.
Brody's favorite gift this year was the VTech InnoTab. It's kind of like
a learning iPad for kids. It got mixed reviews but we are loving it so far!
Look what my hubby made me for Christmas. Faith.
My hubby and I don't do gifts, we just fill up each other's stocking with a small
budget. I don't know how, but he fit some new TOMS in mine. Thank goodness,
my old ones had two holes where my pinky toes were :)
Spoiled by my hubby and mom at Anthropologie. Measuring cups
and the perfect teacup.
Santa left this for us under the tree. A photo book for our family. We think
that Alabaster Snowball (our elf) must have hacked our computer!
My homemade gifts to the kids. They each have a song that
I sing to them, so I designed and framed their songs. Little reminders
of how much I love them.
We were so blessed to have an amazing holiday season!
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