I know it's only October but,

I am already getting in the mood for the holidays. I want to bake things and have holiday parties. Snuggle on the couch drinking hot tea out of a fabulous coffee cup while watching a movie with the fireplace on. Where did this come from? Getting the new Pottery barn catalog in the mail is the problem. They had so many beautiful things that make you want to have Thanksgiving dinner at your house and to be honest who actually wants to have Thanksgiving dinner at your house. Look at this....
(all of the images are from the Pottery Barn catalog)

sorry the image is small but aren't these little squirrel salt and pepper shakers cute. Totally impractical which is what I usually am but isn't everyone entitled to whimsical everyone once in a while.

These salt and pepper shakers are more my style...

Look at the black and white pictures in the vases! Love it!

Too bad snow is not something we get at our house...

Isn't this table setting beautiful...

I know I haven't been around the last week or so, okay two weeks. We have been busy, busy, busy. I promise to come back and post pics of what we have been doing!

Girly Girl

I can't believe you are 7 years old today. You definitely make us laugh with your funny sense of humor. You are also such a smart girl and we are so proud of your accomplishments. We are going to have quite a fun birthday celebration starting tonight. On the menu for the birthday girl's dinner... pesto pizza with pine nuts, goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, fruit salad and salad with cranberries, goat cheese, candied walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette. for dessert the birthday girl is requesting homemade berry cobbler and vanilla ice cream. Not quite the menu most 7 year olds would pick but it sounds good to me! Enjoy your day sweet girl...we love you so much!

"Circumstance does not make me,
it reveals me."
{ william james }

This has definetely been tested and proven this last year and 9 months

Weak in the knees

Everyone has their weakness'. Some it's food, others it's shopping. Here are the things that make me go weak in the knees...... (not in any particular order!)



1. a REALLY good book, the kind that you think about when you aren't reading it and when you are done you feel a loss. Like this series...

2. pretty paper...well any type of paper. I have loved paper since I was a little girl. I remember receiving stationary as a little girl and I would never use it because I liked it too much.

3. going to the bookstore (are you seeing a pattern here?)

4. dessert. How can one not like dessert? I am convinced it should be a food group.

5. My sports team(s) winning. I am a happy girl if I can watch the game with an adult beverage adn some good food. It is even more perfect if the food is something like wings followed up with dessert. It's a good day at our house if the Angels, Chiefs, Lakers, or Gators are winning.

6. Putting the kids to bed and having a quiet dinner for two with the lights low and no interuptions. I am always surprised at how much discussion goes on when you are not repeatedly saying "where's your napkin" "sit in your seat" "use your silverware please".

7. clean sheets. I love the feeling of climbing in bed right after the sheets have been washed. The feel crisp and cool and I just like it!

8. Seeing my husband walk through the door after work everynight. Not just cause I love him but because my partner is here and now we can tag team the 3 monsters destroying our house.
9. any flea market. I love the hunt and the happiness when you make a good find or get a great deal!
10. anything vintage


I know this is a random post today but it's always good to sit and relfect for a few minutes about the things that make you happy.
On a side note, funny 6 year old story. I took Ms. Kennedy to school this morning and when she got out of the car I noticed her shoes didn't really match her outfit. I commented on them and then said "oh well, doesn't really matter. Nothing we can do about it now." She looked at me with the exagerated eye roll only a young girl can do so well and said "Geeezzzz Mama, you have no style." Awesome.

We survived

the 1st birthday party. It was bittersweet to me. So happy my boy is turning one but, at the same time sad because my last baby is no longer a baby. I tried so hard to enjoy every moment of his baby time and I still feel like I didn't get enough. So enough mushy lets get back to the party.

We call Owen our little monkey or monkers. So, we decided to have a monkey party for our little monkey. The cake was our splurge and it was worth it! It turned out so cute and tasted just as good!

Here is the book I made for Owen. I left it our for everyone to write him a little message.

The kids swam while the adults relaxed. For the first time I was actually able to relax during a party. We had a man come and make tacos. Can I tell you how nice it was to not cook a thing for a party! When it was time for cake Owen was not that into eating it. He didn't like the frosting on his fingers at all! Once he got past the frosting he really enjoyed the cake and ended up making quites the mess!





Less than a week till the next birthday! Not ready for my girly to turn 7. It's going too fast...

someone make it slow down please...

Homework oh homework!

Most children think of homework and it makes them groan. Not Brendan. The night before his first day of school I was laying in his bed with him and I asked him what he was most excited about for the new school year. I was expecting an answer along the lines of my friends or playing on the playground. Instead his answer was "HOMEWORK!" He has been looking forward to getting homework for a long time now. Friday was the big day. I picked him up from school and he came down the hall with the biggest smile on his face. In his hands was his first packet of homework. How do I describe the look on his face? It was almost reverent. You would have thought he was holding a piece of paper telling him we was going to play for the Angels. We got in the car and he said, " Mama, can you get a pen out of your purse. I need to do my homework." A discussion ensued and he tried to convince me he needed to do the homework right then. He couldn't wait for me to get home from work and would do it as soon as he got to Grammy's house. I talked him out of it but he took it up to his room when he went to bed that night and the next morning came down carrying his homework ready to begin. When he finally sat down to start the packet on Sunday he could hardly contain his excitement. I am so glad my boy is so excited about learning!

1 year ago today

my little man was born. My last baby is now officially a toddler. Happy birthday my little monkey! We love you SO much. I probably should have put a cute picture of you smiling sweetly but this one sums up your personality the best. At 12 months you have everyone charmed. you definitely have an opinion about everything and if no one is listening you make sure we all notice you. Owen, you are definitely the wild child of the family. You have been walking since you were 10 months old and haven't stopped since you took your first step. Monkey (or monkers) fits you to a tee. You are constantly climbing something, hanging off of the train table or doing something crazy. your favorite trick is to stand on the train table and throw toys off of it or scream loudly so everyone looks at you. You have Kennedy and Brendan wrapped around your little finger. They come running if you make a peep and give you almost anything you want. At the same time Brendan is your protector. He follows you closely to make sure you are safe and not getting into anything you shouldn't. Who needs baby proofing when you have Brendan the worrier around! You have made our family complete and we love every day you have been in our life! We love you Owie!
We look forward to the many exciting things you will accomplish in your life and will be there to cheer you on every step of the way.

So it's been a while...

too long of a while. I have missed my blog. Missed writing, missed reading comments, missed reading old posts and seeing the passage of time. Life takes you on paths that are completely unexpected. Sometimes they are pleasant scenic paths and other times they are rough and untraveled. They make you work hard and dig deep to see what kind of person you truly are. You discover pleasant surprises about yourself, see things you don't really like about yourself and endure things you never thought you could endure. When all is said and done you look back over the journey you have made and say look how far I have come; distance-wise and and as a person. I know that I have just finished traveling one of those unused, dark and unpleasant paths. Looking back over my journey I definitely see baggage that I dropped along the way to make the load lighter. I see how I have changed to endure the journey. I am very happy with the me that is at the top of the mountain looking back along the thorny road I traveled. I have people in my life that are questioning my journey. Why didn't you turn back around? Or I would have done "X" instead. To those people; I hope they can see me standing at the top of the jagged mountain terrain with my arms triumphantly raised above my head. See, I knew deep in my heart I would make it through.

Maya Angelou : The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed.

growing so + a layout

How is it possible Mr. O is already 4 months old? Yesterday we had the 4 month well check at the doctors along with shots. Yay for shots, they are always so fun! Anyway, Mr. O needs to eat some fattening food because he is only 11lb 13.5 oz. He's right on the 50th percentile for height but weight he is only hitting 10th percentile. This boy needs some food to stick to his bones. Why can't I have this issue? Here is my daily pic (did I mention I am trying to do a picture a day for the whole year, 365. Let's emphasize the word try...I am doing great so far but we are only a couple weeks in!)
Just to put something scrappy in, here is a layout I did a while back. I don't like to spend a long time on one layout and my style is pretty simple. I haven't added the journaling in yet but here it is...

This is from our trip apple picking. Mr. B was very excited and was walking ahead of us because he really wanted to pick apples. The picture on the right is a black and white photo. I printed one color version and one black and white. Using a circle punch, I punched out Mr. B and used pop-dots to adhere the picture right over the black and white. this way he really stands out and I like how it isolates him.

Since I only have one child at home right now I need to take advantage of it and get something done so, off I go! Have a great day!