Just me My Soldier and our 4 little chicks

five months of cate+lucy.

really? almost six months? almost HALF A YEAR? whaaaa?

i forgot how FUN five months is.

they are champ sleepers. three solid naps a day and about 10 hours at night.all my children were/are like this. i am CONVINCED it's their daddy's genes.

they spend lots of time playing and laughing and bouncing in their jumperoos.

lucy left,cate right on the lawn at the biltmore..laaaaahdihdah.

 

they are so happy and smiley.

lucy left, cate right

they LOVE interaction of any kind. especially when their big sisters pay attention to them.

 

lucy left,cate right

and they love being in their bumbo chairs right now. usually they face eachother and clasp their feet together. SO sweet.

they are always touching:

cate left,lucy right

 

always cooing, blowing bubbles, shrieking,kicking, sucking hands (sometimes each other's hands!)

 

lucy left,cate right (for the record, it took a while for me to figure out who was who in this photo)

such good babies. always up for an adventure. such good troopers. they go go go. up a mountain, to a restaurant, in the car, to the stores...

cate left,lucy right

 

and everywhere we go we get stopped. j and i play a guess how many people talked to the babies game.

at the biltmore i had them both in my lap while j took the bigs for a restroom break. when he came back i had him guess and i think he was surprised by my answer of a dozen or so!

but the biltmore is full of people! and they all wanted to know about my girls. :) and i love to talk as we all know.

 

so let me tell you about them.

 

lucy:

   

is such a low key, go with the flow, easy,affable baby.

she's so content to just play. and smile. and eat.

she rolled a few times and hasn't been interested since. the size of her thighs may or may not be affecting her mobility.

clearly the girl likes to eat. she's a big,heavy baby!

i finally took the plunge and trimmed off the horrible comb over she had going on top. now her hair is a sweet,dark,even peach fuzz. i love rubbing it.

she has a tooth trying to get through on the bottom.

is a SUPER messy eater of oatmeal (they eat oatmeal once or twice a week at this point).

loves to be held, especially by her daddy.

gets kicked in the face about 93890980 times a day by her spazzy sister but doesn't cry about it. she just kind of looks at her like...are you crazy cate??

fits in some of her 9 month clothes.

LOVES sleep. when we put her in her crib she GRINS at us. like "FINALLY! THANK YOU MOMMY!!!".

loves to bat at her toys that hang from her playmat.

 

cate:

eats like a champ suddenly. can now finish a bottle before her sister, eats her oatmeal like a maniac.

rolls non-stop. this is not an exaggeration.back to front,front to back,back to front. it's ridiculous.

always arching her back, pushing off of something with her feet, head back...out.of.control.we are convinced that she wants to crawl.

is still very finicky. she likes things a certain way. and that way only.

is drooling so much right now,it looks like she's foaming at the mouth.

loves to wring her hands.

screams like a crazy monkey when she's mad.

can still fit into lots of her 0-3 month clothes.

9 out of ten times if a baby is crying, it's cate. bless her sweet, cranky little heart. :)

but she also smiles the most radiant, happy smile.

they both do. :)

 

 

i love them so so so much. it hurts my heart. and it's so FUN.it's getting more and more fun every single day.

happy friday!

xoxo

s

lawn party

hey sweet readers! yep, it's that time again...time to share my studio calico kit work. the may kit is called lawn party and it's just as happy,springy,and chic as it sounds.

this month i got the pink lemonade and paper lanterns add-ons. and don't ask me to pick a favorite b/c i can't. i love them both equally. :)

 

i also got SC patterned paper b/c this is pretty much my favorite SC exclusive paper ever. Doilies,butterflies,chicken wire? HELLOO!!

 

i already owned almost all the shop items this month, so i used a bunch of those too. in addition,i already had several bits+pieces of the other addons,so you'll se some of those.

 

this month was majorly short on time. with easter, j on leave, vacation...i just didn't have more than a couple of days with my kit.

 

booo.

 

with that being said, i am super happy with what i did have time to make. i just love spring colors and patterns. spring has always been my most favorite season.

 

here's what i came up with:

 

almost 5

8 1/2 by 11

made using:

lawn party(patterned papers,alpha)

pink lemonade(rub-ons,ephemera,brads)

clear skies-(border sticker)

shop extras(crate chipboard)

making memories slice&studio essentials cartridge

i know i already mentioned this, but i love the doily paper this month. i sent kelly some images of my vintage plastic doilies and she came up with this awesome paper.

love love love. love it even more since there's chicken wire on the b side. reminds me of visiting our farm.

this layout is pretty basic. collage style, made using iPhone pics that miss H has asked me to take of her daily 'ashion.

love the hambly rubons.

 

like a mirror image

12x12

made using:

lawn party

this one is super "graphic/clean" for me and i love it. these photos are so stinkin' cool and i really wanted to showcase them.

the butterflies reinforce the mirror theme.

 

sunshine

12x12

made using:

lawn party (paper,flags)

paper lanterns (alpha,chipboard accents,border stickers,crepe paper flowers)

happy colors for a layout about a happy girl. i trimmed the crepe paper flower with scissors so that it was smaller and would layer easily on the flower.

 

that grin

12x12

made using:

lawn party (floral paper,alpha,flags,pinked filters)

pink lemonade (black dot paper,lace,mini alpha)

clear skies(border stickers)

shop extras- crate paper chipboard accents

apron lace punch

i love this layout. it feels sort of vintage to me, which i love. i had NO idea what to do with the filters, to be honest. i'm not a crumple them up,dye them, mist them type of gal.

so i just used them sort of as vellum...and journaled on them. easy peasy.

this month we got to choose a SC member and lift one of their layouts. i chose the one below by SusanC.

as you can see i lifted the general design, and i loved the ribbon threaded through the holes of the die cut. i mimicked this by running lace through the holes on the chipboard film strip.

thanks so much for the inspiration,susan. your layout is absolutely gorgeous!

 

huh. looking back at this post i realize i used this piece of crate paper from the main kit:

on every.single.layout. literally. on all four. wow. i knew i loved it but i didn't know i was obsessed. HA!

 

hope you have a beautiful,blessed thursday!

xoxo

s

the return of bum bum bummmmmm.....flea market finds!

**tuesday giveaway still open below**

yes,flea market finds have returned.

or if you read in the olden days of yore on stephanie's blog...fee farket finds. as harper used to call them. and as kelly goree still calls them.

 

when we were in asheville, we stopped by a place called the antique tobacco barn. my friend kimber leigh recommended it, and she clearly knows me very very well. i was in heaven. the place was HUGE. HUGE! i could have easily lost an entire day there and been so happy.

but j and the kiddos were in the car and waiting...so i saw about 1/4 of it. but it was amazing.

i guess this isn't technically flea market finds...since it was a store, but that's what i'm calling it. :)

i wanted SO much of what i saw. but there was SO much to see i think i got a little overwhelmed and panicked. HEEE!

but here's what i did buy.

i spotted this old "critter box" (as it was labeled) i suppose it's a feeder of some type. i had NO idea what do do with it but i loved it and wanted to use it in my scrap room somehow.

i've learned here's what works best for me.

i collect certain things. milk glass, cake pedestals,tins,juice glasses,baskets,scales, "h"s and "6"s...

but i don't buy what's in or sought after,or anything like that. i just kinda buy whatever speaks to me. and this spoke.

when i got home i realized it worked PERFECTLY.

the main basket is now home to all of my random embellishments/stickers that didn't fit anywhere and were just thrown in piles around my room.

the spout/feed tray whatever it is is filled with small tags.

 

a blue Ball jar. i LOVE these and don't have any, so i'm slowly starting to collect them.

an apothecary jar, a "six" for my mantel collection, juice glass,and milk glass compote bowl.

 

the compote bowl now holds embroidery floss, and the juice glass holds my craft scissors.

 

and last but not least, an ice cream scale (which i will add to a vignette i have of scales with alarm clocks on top), a glittered 6...technically a 9...which i will add to my mantel, and an old burlap peanut bag. i'm going to make this one into an accent pillow.

 

sigh. i think i'd really missed junk/antique/flea market shopping. it's nice to be back!

 

i have a couple of links to share today.

as you probably know i hand journal on every single layout i ever make. and the only pens i ever use (really, these are the ONLY ones) are american crafts precision pens in .01 or .03.

today,starting at noon EST, precision pens are being sold in sets of brown and black at SC. if you buy one set, you get one free.

This offer is limited. When they are gone, they're gone. This is an AWESOME deal.

here's the link

note: if you buy a black set, you get a black set free. a brown set receives a free brown set.

 

one more thing...

my friend lain has a fabulous website and concept called "layout a day".

i'm one of the guests for may and lain interviewed me on the topic of embellishing. and we all know how spazzy i am in interviews so i'm sure it's good stuff. HA!

lain wanted me to share the link for may with you! here's the link to sign up.

 

i hope you have a beautiful wednesday!

xoxo

s

giveaway&review tuesday- lisa leonard designs

nerd alert.

i've been a fan of lisa leonard for years. YEARS.

and i've always wanted one of her pieces. but, well...i kept having kids (snicker) and then i thought that i had too many names to fit on a piece of jewelry.

then i saw this:

the molded heart necklace. and i knew i had to have it. it's beautiful. i wear it almost every single day.

jimmy likes to joke that HE loves it b/c there's plenty of room for another name on there. hmmmph. eyeroll.

it fits me. i don't wear a lot of jewelry. just my wedding band and pearl earrings (now and then).

truth be told, i'm kind of picky. and this is my favorite. i couldn't possibly be happier with it.

her jewelry is timeless, well made, and classic.and a  bit of lisa's heart goes into each piece of jewelry she designs.

like i told you last week, i will only share products and businesses here that i believe in.

i believe in lisa. i follow her blog regularly. she's funny. fashionable. big hearted,created,talented kind, intelligent...an all-around wonderful woman. she blogs from her heart. not all business, she shares her heart.

i treasure her posts.

read her blog. you'll love it. she has a true mother's heart. i am drawn to that.

you can also follow her on twitter...she's @lisaleonard

oh, you know what i forgot to mention? she's incredibly generous.

lisa would like to give away a 50 dollar shop credit to one of my readers.

hop on over to lisa's shop and then come back and let me know what you love most. if you leave a comment you'll be entered into the drawing. i'll pick a winner randomly on friday night.

**US AND CANADA ONLY**

good luck chickadees and happy tuesday!

i have some flea market finds to share tomorrow, and a cate+lucy five month post coming up soon, too. YAY!
xoxo

s

let them be little.

*my mission statement (if you will) when it comes to parenting*

let them play with dolls.or trucks.or whatever it is that makes them happy. but let them play.

don't teach them to be obsessed with weight,or looks,or their hair. don't tell them they aren't smart enough. or pretty enough. or good enough. tell them they are everything. anything. the sky's the limit.

don't demonstrate the behavior that their self worth depends on what someone else thinks of them.

let them know it's wonderful to be SMART. that playing dumb/ditzy/cutesy isn't cute. i remember reading a survey of elementary age children a few years back. the question was, is it better to be smart or sexy?

overwhelmingly? the response was sexy.

tell them that class and elegance and grace and BRAINS? that trumps sexy any day.

dress your girls like little GIRLS. not women. not teenagers. why in the world is there even a tee-shirt made in child size that says "made you look"? why are there teensy hoochie clothes at almost all the stores now?

it's not that i dress my girls in "little house on the prairie" chic....i mean, we all know harper loves her skinny jeans. but dress your kids like KIDS for pete's sake. WHY WOULD YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO LOOK SEXY? it enrages me.

i say NO. hell no. to these things that are available for CHILDREN. i say no to booty shorts, low rise jeans,padded bras (FOR KIDS???? YES I'm YELLING),slogans across the chest,"juicy" on the booty.

there are so many good points brought up in this article.

the title of it? Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps.

i could have written that myself. heck, i wish i would have.

let your children be children.

 

right now is the time for sticky hands, muddy toes,make believe,fairy tales,imagination,finger paint.

 

heartbreak,fear,wanting to look a certain way, insecurities,"does my butt look too big in these jeans?"...that comes later.

i know for a fact that we are going to argue over clothes one day.

just as my daddy used to say to me "isn't that a little short?" with a raised eyebrow...we'll say the same to our girls.

and they will huff and puff and roll their eyes to the heavens and stomp and sigh and gnash their terrible teenage teeth,

but they will leave the house with their dignity in tact.

and then said dignity will probably be stuffed into a backpack and they will do the old switcharoo...i know b/c i invented that trick...

but that's later.

now?

let them be little.

be a mommy to them. not their best friend. you don't need their approval. you don't need to be frightened of hurting their feelings if you tell them NO.

don't be deterred what all the other kids parents are doing. that has nothing to do with you. with your beliefs.

stand strong. love strong. hug strong.

what you are doing,teaching,demonstrating...

will have a huge impact on the women they become.

and even when they are having those brief lapses of judgement, those ugh-look-what-my-mom-made-me-wear-but-don't-worry-i-have-something-cooler-in-my-backpack-moments, may they maintain grace,class,composure,and BRAINS in that teensy miniskirt.

 

i know that i'll be keeping MY composure by remembering the years when lacy socks,patent leather soes,and smocked dresses were the clothing of choice.

yes, let them be little. :)

p.s. aren't the dresses BEAUTIFUL? i mean, they are truly the prettiest dresses we've ever owned. my amazingly talented friend maggie made them. did i mention she's amazing?

 

scrappy sunday- 4/24

happy easter to all of you who celebrate.

HE IS RISEN!

i hope you have a wonderful day,and that it is filled with happiness and peace!

i wanted to share a layout today that i did a few weeks back...

 

 

sweet baby bird

12x12

made for sassafras

sigh. look at sweet tiny baby catie. she was SO little!! i have to tell you, as someone who is used to having 8 lb 9 oz babies (both H and S), holding a 4 lb 12 oz baby is very different. it was like learning to hold a baby all over again.

she's always reminded me of a teeny tiny little baby bird, so when i saw the super cute ellie's tale line, i knew right away what i wanted to do with it.

cardstock- bazzill swiss dot

patterned papers, stickers- sassafras

letter stickers- sassafras

feathers- MM Slice+vintage findings design card

that's it for today, i hope you have a beautiful sunday!

xoxo

s

♥be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.♥

first things first, here's a winner for the my shadowbox creation giveaway!

True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max:274 Result: 6

that means that this is the lucky winner:

6 Kathy R said...

Those frames are beautiful, as is your layout of the babies. Thanks for a chance to win. Enjoy your vacation!

Reply April 19, 2011 at 07:41 AM

Kathy- you didn't leave me an email address, so I hope you see this! Email me at harpersmama8(AT)gmail(DOT)com...and if i don't hear back in a few days I'll have to draw another winner. :(

❤

so we are back after a week in the mountains of asheville. and even though i didn't want to leave, it sure is nice being home and sleeping in MY bed and using MY shower. :)

there's no place like home, after all.

the trip was FANTASTIC. really...the perfect family vacation for us. it had the perfect amounts of good food, nature, relaxation, exploration, and FAMILY TIME. which i treasure so much.

i have to give a shout out to my two "virtual tour guides" kimber leigh and heather. thank you guys SO much for all of the suggestions...it wouldn't have been half as amazing as it was if it wasn't for you!

we had one rainy day where we didn't leave the cabin all day...and j said that was his favorite day. :)

we stayed in chalet quietude, a sweet cabin about 12 miles from asheville.

it had gorgeous views

and amazing morning light (which of course only *i* saw...well,technically i guess the babies saw it. HA!).

but my favorite thing about the cabin was being TOGETHER in a secluded, quiet location. it was wonderful...j grilled every night and we had family dinners.

wine,food,smores,more wine...perfect.

we hiked the blue ridge parkway, visited looking glass falls in the rain, visited the biltmore, ate in asheville, shopped in asheville, and left without getting to do LOTS of other things that were available...just not enough time! we're already planning a trip back in the fall.

i will have to share photos from the BRP and the biltmore in another post. the photos alone warrant their own post, nevermind the stories! :)

this week i'll share more pictures and words about our trip and the family favorites that we found.

the trip was initally much more for J than me. he's the one who loves biking,hiking,running...just being outdoors WAY more than i do.

but i have to admit, it was the perfect place to visit.

have a beautiful saturday!

xxo

s

pinspiration thursday

happy thursday, y'all! i hope your week has been wonderful so far :)

as always, LOTS of inspiration out there...it's a bit overwhelming at times.

i thought that i'd share some more favorites from my pinterest boards.

 

hanging fabric doily mobile from tatertots and jello, how precious is this? so making one for the babies!

 

 

paper wreath from barbwired. and my wreath obsession continues. love this.

 

 

birthday tree from jordan ferney. SO making this for harper's bday party.

 

 

crispy bunny treats from the family kitchen. precious.

 

 

confetti invitations from jordan ferney. dying to make these...not sure for what? maybe i'll make one for jimmy. haha.

 

 

repurposed metal tray from sparklecandace on flickr. i'm a tray hoarder and really like this idea.

 

 

magical princess wand from pebbles in my pocket. uhhh think i'd have to make four of these? i think so. :)

 

many of you commented how pinterest is another time sucker, and i agree. i use it in a slightly different way, though.

i use it to collect my inspiration from blogs i already read, and i don't really ever look through other's pinterest boards at all. i can't use it that way, or i'd never have any time to do anything else. way too much pretty stuff there!

 

that's it for today, have a wonderful INSPIRED thursday!

xoxo

s

Review+ Giveaway tuesday- my shadow box.

i love that i'm able to offer you guys so many wonderful products lately. there are so many generous companies out there...and i love that they want to reward my readers. b/c you know i think you all=the best.

i have made a commitment to only share/review things i LOVE from honest,wonderful small businesses. it's a treat for me to do so.

today, i have another one of those products and companies...my shadow box creation.

i was so happy when the owner, jonathan, contacted me and wanted to share his shadow boxes. b/c they are seriously awesome.

they are beautifully made. and custom engraved...and just sweet. i needed something to change out memorobilia/layouts/photos of the babies. and this really fit the bill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

paper- crate paper

doily- grocery store

chipboard accents- crate paper

flowers- studio calico

bows- jenni bowlin studio

bingo paper- glitz

tag- american crafts

sugar and spice sticker- crate paper

 

i think this turned out so pretty and will look perfect in the nursery.best of all it was EASY to do and will be EASY to change out regularly.

 

here's what jonathan has to say about his shadow boxes:

 

i've setup a store discount code for your readers: SCRAP10 -- it will give anyone who orders 10% of the order. 

i'd also love to give one away!

My Shadow Box Creation offers Shadow Boxes in four popular colors:

• Black
• Blue
• White
• Pink

Currently, we offer a single premium size.  Each 100% wood Shadow Box is 14" (L) x 12" (W) and has about 2" of depth  inside. 

This means you can display more photos, keepsakes and mementos.  The perfect platform for creativity!  Each Shadow Box has a door with an encased glass panel that is 12.5" (L) x 10.5" (W).  For a low cost, we can engrave the glass with any message or imagery you desire.

We can engrave whatever you want, anywhere on the glass.  Perhaps most importantly, the door of the Shadow Box is magnetized, which means your belongings and memories are kept safe and secure.

US Only please, It is just too difficult to send internationally at this point. So sorry.

 

i can testify to y'all that these are so very beautiful in person. i'd never review or share something here if it wasnt. :)

 

if you'd like to win a  shadow box, leave a comment here by friday, april 22 and i'll share the winner when i get home from our vacay. ;)

good luck and thank you so much, jonathan!

xoxo

s

Blog hop winner!!

Time to share the randomly chosen SC blog hop winner!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

151
Timestamp: 2011-04-19 01:27:18 UTC

The winner is:

151
Erin Mayrand said...
Love the "man" layout. the pops of red are just the perfect compliment.

Reply April 14, 2011 at 11:04 AM

Congrats Erin! Email me at harpersmama8(at)gmail(dot)com!

Hope your Monday was wonderful everyone! We are off hiking and enjoying family time in Asheville, nc!

I've scheduled a few posts to keep you entertained. :) have an awesome week!! Xxo
S