Just me My Soldier and our 4 little chicks

into the woods

the march kit, into the woods, is now available at studio calico! this month i again purchased all four add-ons.

i have never really been one for all four in the past, but the last few months i've decided i need to build my stash up again.

over my pregnancy and in the early days after the babies were born, i lost a bit of mojo. i got rid of a lot of supplies that had just been sitting around for ages.

besides, everything this month called my name for different reasons. SC is pretty much the only place i shop now, with no LSS here (boo hiss), so for a few months I'll just get it all. :)

here's what I came up with this month. i decided i wanted to challenge myself a bit with scrapbooking. when you design for a company, you are supposed to inspire people to use their products. in order to do this, you have to keep things fresh and i think it's high time for me to learn a few more techniques!

nothing fancy, i'm starting slow...but i want to learn how to incorporate techniques and still keep my style.

 

 

three

size: 12x12

made using:

piglet mister huey

chicken feed jbs dye ink

martha stewart butterfly punch

wildflower add-on

alphabet from main kit

yes it's true. i misted! i can't believe it myself. i've resisted the trend for a while now. mainly b/c it's not "me". and i'm fine with that. but i really wanted to use PINK mister huey!

i really feel i found a way to use mist and still have the layout look like "me". pretty proud of myself i must say. HA!

i used the violet die cut paper as a mask, placing it on top of a sheet of cardstock. i misted with piglet, removed the die cut paper, and voila. simple, i know. but oh do the results make me happy.

i then cut a couple of the flowers from the die cut paper to frame these sweet photos of sadie.

the book page to the left has a banner on it, i trimmed the banner off of the page so it could overlap my photos.

i think the little yellow tulle flower is super sweet as well.

i used the woodgrain stamp and chicken feed ink to stamp on cardstock, and then i punched butterflies using the martha butterfly stamp.

you know what i love about this page now that i think about it? it's SO sadie.super soft and sweet, but also messy. just right if you ask me.

 

awe

size: 12x12

made using:

close to my heart lagoon ink

fiskars upper crest punch

fiskars apron lace punch

stampin' up! scallop punch

martha stewart scallop dot punch

 

mossy knoll add-on

a smidge of babbling brook (stamp,paper,trim)

my favorite part about this page is the "ruffles" i made using border punches.

i layered them and flipped up the edges with my finger to give the page a  bit of texture.

and yes, i stamped again. i figure it's time to stop saying i don't stamp and get over it. i want to stamp, so i'm going to dang it! it sure doesn't have to be perfect!

i treasure these photos of j and the babies. i think every day how cool it is to have twins. i'm STILL in shock and awe that we have TWO. i'm wondering if that feeling will ever stop and i wanted to do a page about it. :)

 

 

already

size: 8 1/2x11

made using:

versafine onyx ink

a little bit of everything, ha!

from main kit: stamp, patterned paper

from babbling brook: office pockets, sugar and spice sticker

from mossy knoll: ribbon

from sunny clearing: alphabet, crochet doily

from wildflower: button, sticker

 

this photo? makes me laugh SO HARD. so so so so so hard. i wanted to do a page that was a bit quirky...about how lucy already has a bit of sadie spunk to her.

not much to explain here, just fun bits and pieces here and there.

 

 

feels like spring at forsyth park

size: 12x12

made using:

jenni bowlin lemon drops ink

sunny clearing- yellow die cut paper, gingham paper, butterfly

main- papers, stamp, alpha

mossy knoll- alpha

i was looking at these KI die cut calendar papers and thinking how much i loved them. then i realized that one kind of looked like a sun and one could be a hill.

we had just visited forsyth park on a beautiful sunny day...i decided to go with my idea and do a page about that day.

i cut an edge from the yellow calendar paper and used it, along with the gingham paper for the rays, to make a sun at the top of my page.

i placed my title work, and a sweet little bee (stamped using lemon drops), on the sun.

on the "hill" i did a collage of my iPhone photos from our day at the park. I backed each square photo with patterned paper, and scattered tiny butterflies in the collage.

this is a different style for me, but it was so fun to make and i'm super happy with the results.

 

so that's it for this month! if the sickies wouldn't have gotten me, who knows how many i would have done...this month is so bright, happy, and full of fantastic texture.

i also wanted to let y'all know that the january stamps are now available in the store.

i LOVE how the circle/words stamp looks here, it's one of my favorites and i'd grab it up if i were you :):

happy monday!

xo

s

3 months.

thank you for your get well wishes over the past couple of days. i seem to be emerging from the fog, just very weak and tired!

harper has missed three days of school now, and sadie bug came in our room last night and threw up on the floor. she was so scared, bless her heart.

the baby chicks seem okay, just a bit warm. i've given them some tylenol and i'm keeping them up in my room, just as i did yesterday...hoping to keep them away from most of the germs.

speaking of the babies...

they are now (as of yesterday!!) officially three months old.

i can't even believe it as i type it! a quarter of a year. sigh. no more newborn scrunchy legs and sleepy eyes. the fists are slowly coming unclenched.

although we are still finding lint in those little palms every day. ew. what is it with new babies and stinky, linty palms? hahah!

at three months,

lucy :

 

 

 

probably weighs in the 10-11 pound range...i haven't had them weighed in a while.

nicknames:

oocee (as sadie used to say when i was pregnant with the babies)

lucy caboosie (this is a total sadie-ism. if l has my genes in that vicinity, this is NOT a name that needs to stick. ahaha!)

lucy claire- sometimes we call her this, sometimes just lucy

still has a full head of hair, although she's getting a bit of a bald spot in the back.

happy go lucky

good eater

good sleeper, will fall asleep without any help

quieter than her sister

developing sweet little rolls in her thighs.

wants nothing to do with a binkie

smiles all the time

loves bath time

 

cate:

 

 

 

 

probably weighs around ten pounds or close to it

nicknames:

catie

cate the great (a nickname her sissies call her)

still only has peach fuzz, and a big ole bald spot on the back of her head.

the talker of the two. always cooing, engaging mama, smiling

finicky eater. stops and starts on the bottle, takes AGES to drink a few ounces. still prefers to nurse over the bottle.

loves her binkie

lets us know when she is not happy with us (she's usually annoyed with daddy :)

loves bath

getting SUPER chubby cheeks and belly,

totally catching up with her sister in the weight department.

 

and i've fallen in love with them.

it's getting easier every day and i just could eat them up.

their chubby bellies

 

tiny toes

 

the way their little hands grip my finger, their smiles that i think are just for me, even though they really aren't. :)

that picture of cate where she is just GRINNING? i took that yesterday, she was so happy to see me. she hadn't seen me the entire day when i was so sick, and her face just lit up when i got her up the next day.

they are so beautiful. and i couldn't love them more!

happy friday.

xoxo

s

 

 

One Sick Mama

What happens when you combine the common cold, a virus of some sort, bronchitis, and mastitis?

One sick mama. She's hopped up on all sorts of medicines. Her hair resembles a clown wig. She's run down.

And a bedroom that=a disaster zone.She hasn't an ounce of energy to stop the bigs from spreading what was clean laundry all over the floor. She just lets them look for whatever it is they are looking for. :)

also-if that photo isn't proof that my life is far from picture perfect/a pottery barn catalog, I don't know what is. Heh.

Back soon. Xxo

perspective

 

sometimes i get perturbed.

about silly things...

with the fact that he's never home,

with snoring,

with socks thrown all over the house.

and then i remember that year.

six deployments now, but i always think of that year.

the fear, the terror, the worry.

the 25 pounds i lost, the memorial services attended, listening to amazing grace and seeing the anguish and despair on the faces of the women left behind.

looking at my girls, and for the first time in my life not knowing whether their daddy would come home.

the lines on his face that he acquired over that year.

the churning stomach, nails bit to the quick, emotional phone calls.

i think about that,

and suddenly i don't give a damn that he didn't help me do the dishes. all i care about is that he is here. and how lucky i am that he came home.

s

 

infatuated

i'm in love with savannah.

or, as the girls call her, sa-voom-boom.

goose bump inducing, throat catching, teary-eyed love.

i can't get through her as quickly as i would like because we are always pausing so j can read her historical markers, the history here is amazing.

i never ever tire of her. i adore her quirks. her food, her architecture, her sights.

she is the perfect mixture of old and new. of funky, tortured artist SCAD hipsters, tourists,and genteel old money.

amazing shopping, culture, azaleas, searing summer heat but beautiful in the spring... local artists, gourmet foot, street food. wrought iron.

southern charm,forsyth park, hospitality, class, watching drunken antics on river street.

the beach a stone's throw away, incredible mansions, countless festivals...the biggest st. patrick's day celebration outside of boston.

kitch and class all rolled into one.

okay, i'll stop but i could go on forever. truly.

admittedly, we haven't had the time to explore her as much as we have wanted to. but we are working on it...we had to take a brief hiatus due to the arrival of two sweet baby girls. but we are back with a vengeance.

favorite restaurants: mrs. wilkes' boarding house, vinnie van go-go's, soho south cafe, firefly cafe,the pink house, crab shack,chart house,huey's on the river, the cotton exchange, mellow mushroom

still wanting to try: elizabeth on 37th, garibaldi's, vic's on the river, corleone's, lulu's chocolate bar, 700 Drayton, Clary's, gryphon tea room

favorite bakery and candy shop: back in the day, savannah's candy kitchen

favorite shopping: paris market, nadeau, SCAD gift shop, 24e(not my style, but fun to peruse),Broughton Street

still wanting to try: flea markets, junk shops, antiques...HELLO!!! also art galleries. basically all the places you can't go with kids...sarah jane children's boutique

favorite street: west jones street. we drive down this all the time and dream of living there.

favorite neighborhood:ardsley park (ditto above).

here are a few of our favorite places in photos:

left to right, top to bottom:

fragrant garden at forsyth park, the forsyth park fountain, local entertainment at one of the squares, mrs. wilke's boarding house, tybee island, more tybee island, three photos of savannah's candy kitchen, city market (outside vinnie van go go's),six photos of forsyth park, two photos of back in the day bakery, crab shack, paris market, broughton street.

 

when the babies are a bit bigger i am going to take my REAL camera and just walk around and photograph savannah.

you are going to have to drag me from here screaming and kicking. and you are going to have a tough time convincing us not to retire here. :)

she's won me over and will always have a hold on my heart, i think.

happy monday- xo

s

scrappy sunday 2/20

can you tell i got a big order from two peas last week?
ha! i'm in love with the new my mind's eye stella & rose collection and the new american crafts stuff. i got a bunch of goodies early last week, and they've been neglected until today!

patterned papers- my mind's eye

tag- american crafts

scalloped border- studio calico/crate paper exclusive stickers

flowers- american crafts

alphabet- american crafts

metal frame- american crafts

die cut frame- my mind's eye

 

Lately, the bigs are playing together so much more. Don't get me wrong, there is still LOTS of fighting. every single thing is always turned into a competition. Lots of tattling. Lots of little girls being little girls, kids being kids.

But every day they play together a little bit longer. Jimmy always tells them they are "on the same team". And they are realizing this, FINALLY. 

So i wanted to document that realization on a page. That's about it. Super simple, as always. :)

One last thing I want to share today...someone said this to me and i think it is the PERFECT description of having four children under five (or having small children, period).

it's like trying to brush your teeth and eat oreos at the same time.

 

so so true. :)

happy sunday, y'all!

xoxo

s

seen+heard

seen this week:

funny baby onesies

 

 

new spring 'ashions:

walmart

 

target

 

target

 

lawn furniture i'm NEEDING:

slow cooker green chile pork tacos (thanks for the link, mel!)

 

hitting the jackpot by finally finding cupcake red velvet wine (on sale no less!) and buying a case:

 

doily and baking cup overload...big crafty plans for these:

 

 

tummy time:

 

baby carrying:

 

SC Sneak sharing:

 

 

 

heard this week:

1. in preschool, harper has been learning about jesus' miracles. she is VERY into telling us about them when she gets home and sadie is VERY into hearing about them.

before school on thursday:

Harper: MOMMY! i drank all of my soy milk!!

Me: WHAT? it's a MIRACLE!! (she never drinks her milk)

Sadie: Jumps up from chair...WHAT MAMA??? JESUS IS IN DERE!!! (pointing at harper's cup).

Me: crying i am laughing so hard.

 

 

2. In the drive through at my favorite BBQ joint here in town, the little old lady working the register leaned out of the window,peered in the back of my van and hollered "ARE YOU $*#(ing crazy???".

I laughed so hard i woke the babies up.

a. i love little old ladies with potty mouths.

b. this was by far the most original way that anyone has shown their surprise at the fact that i have four children under five.

 

hope your week was happy! have a beautiful weekend. xo

winners!!!

jbs giveaway:

Heather Robertson said...

love JBS - thanks for a chance to win

 

Gussy Sews Giveaway:

222 Stacy Hamby said...

I really like the yellow & grey market tote. I'm still obsessed with that color combo!

 

Ladies- neither of you left me any way to get a hold of you...please email me ASAP at harpersmama8(at)gmail(dot)com with your contact info.

have a great night!
xo

video thursday- songbird edition.

my girls are ALWAYS singing.

always.

take sadie for example. here is an impromptu concert she gave me last week.we were headed to gymnastics, hence the spandex attire. ;)

 

neon trees from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

 

and miss harper is not one to be outdone. i actually have a video of her singing a phoenix song last week, but she is sans shirt. so needless to say that shall not be shared. hee!

 

but if you want to know the depths of her daddy's love, check out the video below.

yes, he IS playing justin bieber (or justin beaver, as harper prefers to call him.) on his guitar. he is. what a daddy.

sidenote: i do NOT have bieber fever. at all. i do kinda want to pinch his little baby cheeks and cut his man shag, but i don't dig him. now mr. efron...that's a different story.

thinking of starting a cougars for zefron club. if you are interested, let me know. HEEE!

justin beaver. from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

 

 

 

happy thursday!

back later with the jbs and gussy sews winners! xxo

 

this is my life. (more aptly titled, this is my life??)

**Gussy Sews giveaway still open two posts below!!**

this past weekend i walked in the room to find sadie with her foot (and the shoe that encased it) everrrrrrrrr so gently resting on lucy's face.

and i flipped out.

well, not really but kind of. i gave her a long speech about how gross that was and how would she like it if i put my foot on her face?

she said she'd like it.

for which jimmy sent her to time out. after her requisite three minutes on the naughty spot, i overheard j having this talk with her.

J: Sadie, why were you in time out?

S: I put my foot on he's face.

J: What?

S: I put my foot on she's face.

J: That's right. You need to go tell the babies you are sorry.

S: BUT I ONLY PUT MY FOOT ON ONE BABIES FACE!!!!

at this point i jumped in. teamwork, baby.

Me: Fine. Sadie, you go tell Lucy you are sorry. NOW. (insert mean mommy face/stink eye).

S: {slowly wandering over to lucy in her car seat,peering through her bangs} uhhhhhhhh, which one is this?

Me: OH FOR THE LOVE.

 

so for the record, she calls the babies "he" and can't tell who is who but only at very convenient times.

 

Lord help me.

 

Happy Wednesday!

(back tomorrow with JBS and Gussy Sews winners)

xoxo