My baby turned 4, today. Wahooo! You may remember how he was born on the sidewalk. I will never NOT plug that birth story on his birthday.

He’s such a sweetie and thanked me profusely every single time I told him “happy birthday!” He was so happy and that made me happy. These two [Read More...]]]>

My baby turned 4, today. Wahooo! You may remember how he was born on the sidewalk. I will never NOT plug that birth story on his birthday.

He’s such a sweetie and thanked me profusely every single time I told him “happy birthday!” He was so happy and that made me happy. These two weeks are full of birthdays–him, his brother (6/2), his Poppie, his uncle–so we had a tiny little birthday par-tay at grandma’s house, on Saturday night. Today, we took it easy, and in early June we’ll have a double-fun-super-awesome-birthday-spectacular for both boys.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Andrew’s third year.

I hope you enjoyed this little retrospective of photos. I must admit–I’m going to be a little bummed when my favorite photo subject goes to school in August. Sigh.

Did you know that last Friday was Tumbleweeds’ birthday? Well, it was! I didn’t get a chance to get online to wish them a happy birthday, but I’m here now to share a few shots I got of my boys on Mother’s Day. It was a beautifully sunny day. Nathan wore Jason’s glasses for [Read More...]]]>

Did you know that last Friday was Tumbleweeds’ birthday? Well, it was! I didn’t get a chance to get online to wish them a happy birthday, but I’m here now to share a few shots I got of my boys on Mother’s Day. It was a beautifully sunny day. Nathan wore Jason’s glasses for most of it. He’s getting his own pair for his birthday. I had to hide them after they came in the mail, because if I stared at them everyday I would FOR SURE not be able to resist giving handing them over. Less than 3 weeks til he turns 7! The little one turns FOUR (4!) this Sunday. Let’s not talk about it.

Obviously, we had a pretty fun game of hide-and-seeks going on. Jason wins best hiding spot…every time. The boys win least creative, as they kept going back to the same place!

I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend! Mine was pretty darn nice.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday! I’m going to plant a rose bush (or 3) for my mom, but every year I also get the grandmas a photo book (standard 8″x11″ from Snapfish) filled with photos of their grandsons. Because who do moms love more than their own kids? Their GRANDKIDS. It’s true.

Anyway, I’ve [Read More...]]]>

Mother’s Day is this Sunday! I’m going to plant a rose bush (or 3) for my mom, but every year I also get the grandmas a photo book (standard 8″x11″ from Snapfish) filled with photos of their grandsons. Because who do moms love more than their own kids? Their GRANDKIDS. It’s true.

Anyway, I’ve had the books for a few days and I’ve been trying to think of how to wrap them. I’ve done wrapping paper, decorated kraft paper, and even scrap fabric in the past. This year, I went with vintage silk scarves. I had two sizes. One was a big 36″x36″ square and the other (this one!) was a bit smaller, at 21″x21″. Here’s how I wrapped it:

1. Place the book face down on the scarf with the edges of the book facing the corners of the scarf. Tie a knot with the 2 corners on the short side of the book.
2. Flip the whole thing over and a tie a knot with the adjacent corners. This is the “front.” Optionally, you can tuck in the little flaps on the back knot. If your scarf is little, like mine, you’ll be able to see some of the book poking through, like this. I rather like the texturing coming through from the linen book cover.

Finish it off with a pretty tag. I wrote out the word mom on a piece of cardstock, poked holes with my embroidery needle, then used two strands of floss to trace my letters. It took 10 minutes tops!

Are you doing anything special for your mom or mom-like figure in your life this weekend?

Those are the last photos of that beautiful long hair. After almost two years of no haircuts, the little one finally got one. He was bribed with a bubble mower (oh he loves it) and talked about the cut for a few days before we took him on Friday. Honestly, I was a little [Read More...]]]>

Those are the last photos of that beautiful long hair. After almost two years of no haircuts, the little one finally got one. He was bribed with a bubble mower (oh he loves it) and talked about the cut for a few days before we took him on Friday. Honestly, I was a little sad about it. I kept finding myself staring at him through Friday evening. I’m warming up to it, though. He’s still pretty darn cute. It will grow back.

Here’s what he looks like now:

Saturday was a busy day and it ended with us grilling for dinner. Except not. That wasn’t really the end. See, as I was preparing to serve and my husband was bringing in food, my other son spent a few minutes trying to do some tricks on a soccer ball. ON. THE. BALL. He tried to balance on it and fell. We thought it was sprained, so he got a cold rice pack to hold on it while he ate dinner. He looked pretty pale, so I knew it was really hurting. I gave him some acetaminophen and he said he wanted to go to bed around 8:15.

Fast forward two hours and he yells for us to help him out of bed. His arm hurts so bad he can’t roll out to go to the bathroom. We notice it’s a bit swollen and he can’t extend his arm. Most of the pain is in the elbow, so we make the decision to take him to the ER. A few hours later, we get the official diagnosis of a fractured humerus. Sigh. He’s got his arm in a splint and we have orders to visit an orthopedist this week. It’s a small fracture, but he still might end up in a cast. The worst part is it’s his left arm and he’s a lefty, soooo….time to practice handwriting again. He’s pretty ambidextrous when it comes to sports (throwing lefty, hitting right, etc), so I’m hoping he can pick up at least legible penmanship with his non-dominant hand.

Does anyone have a kid that’s fractured their humerus? Apparently, it’s one of the more common arm fractures for children. They tend to land on their elbows for falls during sports and whatnot. Any advice?? Thanks in advance!

When he saw the splint– “Oh boy, I’m glad I didn’t hurt my Angry Birds arm…”

You know what I heard this week? I heard someone say they wouldn’t put their kid in hand-me-downs. Forrrreal. My brain does not compute. WHAT?! WHYYY? I just don’t get it.

Hand-me-downs are the best! THE BEST! When my oldest was a baby/toddler, we spent almost every weekend at various thrift stores. He [Read More...]]]>

You know what I heard this week? I heard someone say they wouldn’t put their kid in hand-me-downs. Forrrreal. My brain does not compute. WHAT?! WHYYY? I just don’t get it.

Hand-me-downs are the best! THE BEST! When my oldest was a baby/toddler, we spent almost every weekend at various thrift stores. He would get a crap-ton of clothes at birthdays and Christmas (~6 months apart!), so we never splurged between. We looked for used items that fit his MY aesthetic. He didn’t give one single darn.

I’m happy to report my toddler is the same way. I saved a lot of Nathan’s old clothes and now Andrew gets to love them. Some of the items have got be twice or thrice handed down. No problemo!

The little guy’s shirt & pants were both handed down from his brother. The shirt was thrifted and has always been one of my favorites. His boots are from Marshall’s. We bought them a size too big and so they’ve lasted MONTHS (chunky socks in the winter) and have that sweet worn look, now.

He is still adamant about not cutting his hair. I’m still holding back. I foresee a disaster if I try to force him.

Visit Mama Loves Papa for more Small Style!

We survived the 6 days without daddy! One of the perks of him being gone is he brings gifts! Andrew got this adorable robot hat. Now he can chant “I.AM.A.ROBOT.” and actually look like one. Nathan got a different more “grown up” hat and I got chocolate! Weee!

The week without daddy wasn’t tough [Read More...]]]>

We survived the 6 days without daddy! One of the perks of him being gone is he brings gifts! Andrew got this adorable robot hat. Now he can chant “I.AM.A.ROBOT.” and actually look like one. Nathan got a different more “grown up” hat and I got chocolate! Weee!

The week without daddy wasn’t tough at all. MY dad helped out a lot. My boys lovelovelove grandpa and I lovelovelove not having to walk in the rain to pick up the big kid from school. It was pretty great having him around.

sheeeeesh. guh-rown.

The night before last, My Girl Thursday and ♥elycia hosted Craft Night! I logged on while they were getting their camera and stream situated and proceeded to cut my pieces during the first few minutes. I followed along with them for about an hour and a half and then had to help with bedtime. [Read More...]]]>

The night before last, My Girl Thursday and ♥elycia hosted Craft Night! I logged on while they were getting their camera and stream situated and proceeded to cut my pieces during the first few minutes. I followed along with them for about an hour and a half and then had to help with bedtime. I was able to pick up where I left off when I got back and finished all of the sewing that night. I stuffed my camera the next morning and presented it to Andrew.

He LOVES it. I took these photos this morning and you can see where the felt is already pilling. I used the craft-store stuff because that’s all I had on hand. I intended to make it all blue, but…ummmm I ran out. Ha! Oh well. I like the contrasting yellow sides and top/bottom.

Did you participate? Show me!

After posting this photo on Twitter, the kind folks over at Tumbleweeds contacted me and asked if we would be interested in reviewing a pair of child-size sunglasses. Of course!

Upon opening the package, I was immediately struck by how tiny the glasses seemed. Surely, they would not fit my toddler’s giant noggin. [Read More...]]]>

After posting this photo on Twitter, the kind folks over at Tumbleweeds contacted me and asked if we would be interested in reviewing a pair of child-size sunglasses. Of course!

Upon opening the package, I was immediately struck by how tiny the glasses seemed. Surely, they would not fit my toddler’s giant noggin.

I called him over and was SO happy to be proven wrong.

They fit perfectly! Wearing his dad’s sunglasses, he constantly had to be poking them back over his little button nose. These were so nice and snug. Andrew was super excited, too! Anything he can wear that is like someone else’s in the family–he LOVES. He was so excited when both he and Nathan got similar jackets for Christmas.

These glasses provide the perfect touch of uniqueness while still letting him look like his dad. Plus, they’re super durable! He doesn’t quite yet know how to take them off without stretching them and the frames were just as snug after a few pops on and off.

Many, many thanks to Tumbleweeds for providing these little sunnies for my boy. He is so happy with them. We can’t wait for more sunny days! He’s already ordered me to keep them in my purse all the time. He went so far as to suggest I keep them with my camera. Smart boy!

Andrew’s wearing: Zebra wood sunglasses c/o Tumbleweeds, shirt from Threadless, cardigan from Danielle’s online yard sale, and no pants because that’s how he rolls on Sunday mornings.

We decided to take a little trip to the Houston Zoo, this weekend. We invited the boys from our cub scout pack to go with us. We spent five hours there and yet we didn’t see everything. It’s such a massive place! We definitely want to go back and check out other stuff. We [Read More...]]]>

We decided to take a little trip to the Houston Zoo, this weekend. We invited the boys from our cub scout pack to go with us. We spent five hours there and yet we didn’t see everything. It’s such a massive place! We definitely want to go back and check out other stuff. We have a “Supporting” membership and so we can take a pretty decent group with us. For free! This thing paid for itself after the first visit.

Grandma went with us!



An Instax self-portrait by Nathan. The close-up filter is so cool!

Just say “booooooo!” to flash.

There are TONS of succulent plants (mainly agaves, aloes, and other cacti) around the zoo. Love.

I had my DSLR with me, but I didn’t take it out once. Instead, I used up a whole pack of Instax Wide film. I really love this camera! I posted some Instax photos, last week as well. Maybe next time I’ll get some shots of the animals. Womp.

fever: My sweet little guy woke up around 12:30 am the other night– “there’s something in my rooooom!” I was asleep, but daddy was not, so Andrew ended up in bed with me. The next 5 hours were kind of a blur. See, earlier that night he had a fever. No other symptoms, really, [Read More...]]]>

fever: My sweet little guy woke up around 12:30 am the other night– “there’s something in my rooooom!” I was asleep, but daddy was not, so Andrew ended up in bed with me. The next 5 hours were kind of a blur. See, earlier that night he had a fever. No other symptoms, really, but he was warm. I expected him to fall back asleep, but instead of a blissful slumber with a warm cuddly bear, we pretty much talked all night. Every little shadow he saw, he thought was SOMETHING–kitties, owls, scary ladies, and finally at 4am he declared the shadows were turning daddy GREEN. I assured him daddy was NOT green and that HE wouldn’t turn green if he fell asleep. I could see him drifting in and out, but he wouldn’t just STAY asleep. At least not until around 5:30. I promptly fell asleep after I was sure he was out only to be woken up an hour and a half later to get my oldest ready for school. After sending him and Jason off, I napped with Andy until about NOON. It definitely threw me off, but he was feeling better and there was no pesky fever. Whew!

style: He went out with my mom, this afternoon. He wanted to wear his “doctor shirt” (omgosh) and blue jeans. then, when we put on his brown boots and jacket, he noticed the brown hat hanging by the front door. Voila! We have an adorable outfit.

hat: $4 clearance at Kohl’s (score!) / shirt: Kohl’s / jacket: thrifted / pants (not shown): Nate’s old Levi’s blue jeans

there are blue skies in my dreams and laughter that seems un-ending there are green grass fields there and happiness and hopes for tomorrow

Just a few photos from our weekend taken with my Instax 210. We were in our old neighborhood, so we passed by one of the parks we used to [Read More...]]]>

there are blue skies in my dreams
and laughter that seems un-ending
there are green grass fields there
and happiness and hopes for tomorrow

Just a few photos from our weekend taken with my Instax 210. We were in our old neighborhood, so we passed by one of the parks we used to take the boys to and found it torn down and replaced with this new…weird structure. There was a slide there that had NO EDGES on it. AND it had an awkward twist way up top. It was terrifying! I was kind of bummed to see this new place because I took some pretty lovely photos of the boys there when Andrew was a baby. Oh yeah, there are also no swings left behind at the park. I’d be so upset if we still lived in the area!

It’s been in the 70s, the past few days and it is downright ruining my winter mood. In fact, I’ve given up on Winter already. Spring designs and projects are being brainstormed and put in my little notebook already. I may even tackle some Spring cleaning, this weekend, too (I make no promises).

I am finally getting caught up with posting these photos. They have been going into a folder in my December folder and just sitting there. I’ve been editing when I get a free moment. I’m in the midst of a huge [Read More...]]]>

Reflecting on the season.


It’s a sign!


twinkle, twinkle


shaping up


a whole lot of happy


simply divine


sincerely yours

I am finally getting caught up with posting these photos. They have been going into a folder in my December folder and just sitting there. I’ve been editing when I get a free moment. I’m in the midst of a huge toy purge and laundry is slaaaying me.

Also? Not a fan of my boys being together ALL DAY LONG. Really. It sounds awful, but they NEED the break school provides. 10 hours together and they’re pretty much hating each other by the end of it. Wash, rinse, repeat, every…single….day.

Sunday morning, my mother-in-law emailed me to let us know Santa would be at R.E.I. that day taking FREE photos with kiddos. She suggested we stop by on our way to her house and get a shot of the kids with him. I went through their closet looking for the perfect little combinations and [Read More...]]]>

Sunday morning, my mother-in-law emailed me to let us know Santa would be at R.E.I. that day taking FREE photos with kiddos. She suggested we stop by on our way to her house and get a shot of the kids with him. I went through their closet looking for the perfect little combinations and finally settled on a red gingham shirt for Andrew and a green gingham shirt for Nathan. FESTIVE!!

All was wonderful up until Andrew standing next to Santa and the photographer slowly walking to his camera… “NOOO!” He ran away. He actually told Santa what he wanted, but then got creeped out by the guy taking the picture. No offense to the photographer, he was nice enough. My little one is just at the age where #1 DON’T tell him what to do, and #2 Who are you? GET AWAY! Basically, only mommy can take his picture.

Oh well. Nathan looked pretty adorable–

Andrew is wearing: thrifted shirt & blazer, boots from The Children’s Place, pants from Target, pin from Mod Cloth.
Nathan is wearing: shirt & hat from Target, Levi’s pants, thrifted blazer.

It was last Christmas when I gifted myself a copy of Print Workshop and the basic tools of a block-printing kit. Over the past year, I’ve made quite a few stamps using my trusty lino cutter, including a crochet-inspired one that I’ve been using on the envelopes for my Lace Love orders. I’ll share [Read More...]]]>

It was last Christmas when I gifted myself a copy of Print Workshop and the basic tools of a block-printing kit. Over the past year, I’ve made quite a few stamps using my trusty lino cutter, including a crochet-inspired one that I’ve been using on the envelopes for my Lace Love orders. I’ll share that one with you soon, but today I want to talk about my Christmas card!

I doodled this tree, inspired by a drawing in a children’s book, several times and knew I wanted to incorporate it into our Christmas card somehow. I cut a small version on a scrap piece of Speedy Carve and liked it so much, I began drawing it larger. When I was finally satisfied, I drew it directly on a linoleum block and began carving. I found some metallic Speedball ink on clearance at Hobby Lobby one day and took it as a sign. THIS needed to be on the front of my card! I got to work immediately and had my 30 cards printed in a few short hours.

Its metallic-y shiny goodness–which was surprisingly hard to capture in photos–is not the best part of the card. Nope. The BEST past of the card? The handsome little fellas on the inside:

Thrifted blazers, vests, cardigans, lollipops. Informal to the max, but just our style.

You want to see outtakes, you say? But, of course!

I took the outdoor photos first. There was more than one meltdown, I can promise you that. The black & white photo shows what a toddler looks like when his big brother tells him he WILL NOT hold his hand. Oh my word, the tears! I spared you the photo of them BOTH crying because I threaten their treat. When we finally came back in, they got their lollipop prize and were still so adorable, I HAD to take more photos. In our dining room. Lucky I did because I ended up loving one of those the most!

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Did YOU take your own Christmas card photo? How did it go?? How did you “dress it up” for your actual card? I want to know!

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p.s. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for 100 custom postcards I posted earlier today!

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p.p.s. I totally forgot to mention I’m linking up with The Paper Mama’s Holiday Photo challenge!