Stephanie Howell

harper's fall fashion tips!

hey guys! it's harper here with some fall fashion tips.

 

what's a howell girl to wear when the temperatures drop a bit? why a trench coat of course!

 

mommy always says that audrey hepburn made the trench coat classic.then she starts talking about cat and the rain and a kiss (EW!)...and we have no idea what she's talking about but we just listen to her anyway.

 

when you wear a trench coat, it's imperative to make this pose and yell (FAAAASHION!!!!!)

harper's coat is by secretly spoiled and sadie's is several years ago from old navy.

a cute shirt dress and tights is always good for the fall too. i like this one because i can do alllll the buttons all by myself. and when i do them it makes sadie cry because she can't do buttons yet and she's jealous.

 

and it makes mommy look like she's going to cry because it takes me about 30 minutes.

 

curled hair is always cute, i asked mommy to do mine for picture day. this meant we had to wake up 30 minutes earlier and for some weird reason mommy's eyes were half closed the whole time. next time i'll make her drink her coffee first.

 

it really helps (because it kind of HURTS to have your hair curled) to sing "FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHION reeeeeeealy HURRRRRRRRRTS" while you are having your hair curled. this is what i did the entire time...in an  opera voice. it was pretty awesome.

dress by elephantito , tights by crewcuts

 

now i'm going to share sadie's fashion tips. she can't share them herself because a. she doesn't want to and  b.she's off jumping off of things, doing headstands,making messes,and scaring my parents half to death.

 

the boo boo on her face is from when she ran into a slide at full speed while running under the play structure at forsyth park. she likes the scar, she says it makes her look tough.

 

sadie likes to yell "BACK OFF" at me when i talk to her about fashion. i don't know why she acts like she doesn't care, i know for a FACT that she tried on three different outfits before mommy chose the one below.

 

she must like fashion because the first outfit she chose was a princess dress, a kate gosselin wig,and pajama pants!

 

anyway...sadie says the best 'cessory is a tough face. she also favors the "who are you trying to get crazy with ese? don't you know i'm LOCO???" face as displayed in the black and white photo below.

 

shirt&jeans-target

and just so you all know i KNOW she secretly loves fashion. she wore skinny jeans the other day and she kept smiling and saying she looked like boppy (that's me!!!)and she didn't want to take them off. i know her secret!!

 

well, that's it!

 

have a great day everyone!! i'm off to dress my 2394823984 barbies in complicated clothes! i can't do it myself but i ask my mommy every time and i know she loves it!

 

happy monday!

h

 

h+s

these girls are getting so big right before my very eyes!

every day you can find at least one of them (but usually both) in some sort of a princess dress or tutu.

they are so self sufficient. they have had to be since i had the babies.

in the days when i was nursing the babies...they had to learn to fend for themselves a little more. :) dress themselves, find snacks...and that caught on. they grew up a tiny bit when i had cate and lucy.

they don't need me aaaaaaaaaas much. and honestly i really like that. it's nice that they will do a bit more for themselves. it gives me a little break and it makes them feel good about themselves.

the funny thing is, it's usually sadie helping harper find things and do things. HA!

 

they love to PLAY right now. they play together.

but OH THE FIGHTING!!! can someone please tell me how they can switch from playing nicely to shrieking at a pitch that every dog in the neighborhood can hear?

some days the tattling and the one-upping drives me nuts. sometimes i have to tell them NO MORE TALKING TO EACHOTHER. SILENCE!

they are changing. sadie wants to do everything HERSELF. and when it's apparent she simply can't, she sighs and is SO dramatic about asking for help. "ooooookaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay".

like she's doing ME a favor by asking for help. hahaha!

she's feisty and beautiful. she tells the dog next store to BACK OFF!!!! when it barks at her.

she knows what she likes. she is funny as hell. she will say something funny and then try to hold a straight face, but she can't. she knows she's funny. it's dangerous. :)

  

but she still NEEDS me. when she's scared she climbs in my lap and holds on so tight. every morning when she wakes up she kisses my arm or my head and purrs "gooood morrrrning mama".

she thinks she doesn't need a nap anymore, but on the days she talks me in to skipping it, she falls asleep on car rides in 30 seconds flat.

she's 3. but i forget this. she's tall. and does everything harper does (and more!). i forget she's only three.

she loves her daddy so much. she sits and waits for him. it makes my heart ache.

i am too easy on her. she gets away with too much. but she's sly that one. i have to remind myself to be firm and stay consistent with her. i love her so much.

she's perpetual motion.

and this one...

oh, she's gotten so big. and she's so beautiful. she's so so beautiful.

she's grown tall. and there is NO baby fat left on her body. because of her food allergies she is so so thin. the doctors bug me about it a but. but what am i supposed to do? she eats and asks for seconds...she's just skinny.

and i have to be careful that we don't tell her that. she picks up on it. and worries about it. she will say something like "do i need to eat more food so my belly gets bigger???".

oh my. we tell her she is beautiful and smart and just right. we do not use the work fat in this house. we do not compare weights. she's a sensitive one. (wonder where she got that?? wink)

she so worries about MY feelings.

me: "what do you want for dinner tonight?"
h: hmmmm. what would be easiest for YOU mommy?

when sadie gets hurt she cries harder and louder than sadie does.

she needs a lot of reassurance. very "first child".

she's a perfectionist. we work so hard on not getting worked up. on having fun. she needs a lot of positive reinforcement and responds well to it.

she is a total ham. always asking me to take random pictures of her. hahaha!

she is smart. and a hard worker. she loves school. and every day she comes home and writes and illustrates stories.

i need to give her more one on one attention. i feel like i don't see her much, she's at school all day and then in the hustle and bustle of the afternoon and homework and supper...then it's bedtime. and i miss her. so much.

sometimes i'm too hard on her. i expect a lot from her and sometimes i forget she is just FIVE. she is me. so much of me. and because of that we butt heads a lot. i am trying my hardest to love on her and guide her without being so hard on her. i love her so much.

they have been so wonderful the past 10 months. they have helped me so much, loved on me just when i needed it, brought me so many diapers and wipes and given so many kisses.

they have handled the babies and the attention they get so well. we get stopped all the time and no one comments on them, they are just interested in the babies. this has NEVER made them jealous. they just jump right in and say "oh we LOVE our babies".

they are amazing.

don't get me wrong. they have meltdowns. a LOT of meltdowns. we have time outs. LOTS of time outs. sometimes i give MYSELF a time out.

but they are amazing.

we must be doing something right. even though most of the time i have NO idea what i'm doing...i must be doing something right.

happy thursday!

xxo

s

and off she flew

we carefully set her clothes out

talked to daddy on the phone ("i'm excited but a little bit nervous" and LOTS of talk about what uniform she was wearing)

had a special celebratory dinner of her favorite meal (lasagna)

took a big bubble bath and washed her hair twice to make it extra shiny

read the kissing hand (during which she kissed MY hand and told me to put my palm on my face if i missed HER :)

went to bed early (or tried to...someone kept yelling "I AM SO CITED!!!" "IT'S LIKE CHRISTMAS!!!!")

woke up before the sun

had a special first day breakfast (no "k" candles meant i had to improvise...1=first day)

packed lunch

packed her backpack

got her dressed

took a first day survey

did her hair

took some photos

 

started talking about leaving and got REALLY excited

got in the van

drove to school (chattering ALL the way)

SKIPPED down the sidewalk,not looking back at all until she realized she was all alone

through the doors

down the hallway

put her things in her cubby

signed the sign in sheet

told her teacher HELLLOOOO!!!! TODAY IS SPECIAL! IT IS GOING TO BE AMAZING!!

gave me a hug and a big kiss,

went straight to a desk and got to work

just like that.

not a trace of fear on her face, not a bit of doubt in her voice,not a tear in her eye.

i'd say my girl was ready.

and i cannot WAIT to hear one run-on sentence alllll the way home about every single little thing she did,learned,and saw today.

i could not be prouder.

sure wish her daddy could have seen her fly.

xoxo

s

nutshell

photos taken in massage chair at airport. harper's facial expressions literally had me in tears. the second one makes me laugh uncontrollably every single time i look at it.

 

the other day i woke up with BAD hair. bad. you see, i have the kind of hair that isn't curly, isn't straight...i suppose it's wavy-ish. but if i don't blow dry it it looks like i stuck my finger in a socket. it's bad. i had fallen asleep with wet hair, so it was total clown wig territory. 

i walked into harper and sadie's room with a straight face and said "doesn't my hair look BEAUTIFUL today???". 

harper:(panicked look on her face b/c she never wants to hurt anyone's feelings) oh! ummmmmmmm, yes! yes mama, you look BEUATIFUL!!!!

sadie: (smirk on her face) not so much.

 

and that? in a nutshell?
is the difference between my girls.

happy monday.

xoxo

s

when in the world

when in the world

did this baby

become this girl?

when did she lose all of her baby fat and when did she get these long legs...kind of awkward, like a colt?

when did she stop mispronouncing words?

when did 'ashion become fashion? fee farket become flea market? when did she stop needing me to help her get dressed?

how did kindergarten get here ALREADY?

i can't wait to see her soar. she will love school. she will walk in that door and never look back.

and i will enjoy having time to get to know the babies.

but oh how i will miss her. oh how i will long for that beautiful smile to walk out of that school door every day.

she is so much of me it makes my heart ache.

oh how she will fly.

i can't wait to see it.

xo

 

the week in photos

how was your week? ours went QUICKLY! which i both love and hate. i pray for the passing of time so that we can be together as a family, but at the same time i DON'T want time to go quickly. i love the ages the girls are right now and i want to savor it.

wow. too early for deep thoughts. moving on.

our week was full of the usual things.crafts,water play,target trips,the ymca...

speaking of the ymca, kickboxing=the devil. it hurts. and my limbs are WAY too long to do it gracefully. last night? i fell OFF of the exercise ball. that's right OFF. during ab work, i rolled right off in slow motion. and the guy behind me? snickered. whatever, he'll get his. haahah!

i wanted to share some photos from the last week. hope you don't mind!

here's a sneak from the sara jane boutique advertisement shoot. miss h won a contest a while back and she is one of the "faces of sara jane". how fun is that? shana cawley did the shoot and i think she is just fabulous. and harper? worked it. i was dying laughing. she was totally POSING. heeee!

 

last sunday we were invited to a brunch for all of the ranger wives and children. a wonderful, GENEROUS local couple threw us all a gorgeous brunch at a country club, complete with gift bags. it was overwhelming and so kind.

here's the howell chickies before the brunch:

 

i don't know what this is all about...but harper? looks EXACTLY like me here. hahahahhaha!

this one makes my heart ache.

sadie says "what in the JOSE?"

i don't know what's up with these two, but they have NO personality. snicker.

precious precious girls. sadie's not sure about how to smile here. :)

a. why is their hair connected? b. the bigs are screaming in this photo. can you tell by the look on lucy's (left) face? hahahaha. oh my. this one makes me laugh hard.
 
lucy reminds me so much of harper as a baby. i had to take a photo of the two of them together.

and one of all of us during art time this week:

hmmm. attractive. and a reminder that art should always be VERRRY VERRRRY serious.:)

happy friday, hope your holiday weekend is beautiful!

xxo

s

some things never change.

**SCT giveaway still open below!**

what IS it about  baby toys?

what makes them so alluring no matter your age?

the other day:

and close to three years ago:

 

 

 

or maybe the title of this post should be

miss harper never changes? hahahaha!

have a beautiful thursday.

xoxo

s

Harper's May Flowers Party

the sassafras blog hop is still open below!

i'm sitting here all alone, j's at a social event, the girls are OUT, and i'm recovering from the party today. looking through the photos, i've decided that they bring me so much joy...i want to blog them TONIGHT instead of waiting until next week. :)

hope you all don't mind!

harper decided she wanted a "flowers" theme and i came up with the idea of doing a "may flowers" party.

i had fun working on this party for a few weeks. most of the supplies are things i already had.

i thought i'd share what all i did. if you have any questions, please ask in the comments below. i LOVE to share ideas!

lanterns from oriental trading embellished wiht doilies,slice cut flowers,and jbs buttons.

party hats from the party store. decorated with slice cut flowers and 5s and jbs buttons

garland made from fishing line, silk gerbera daisies and daffodils and crepe paper (for the leaves)

 

i decorated the chandelier over the table with pom poms left over from harper's party last year, fringed crepe paper, paper chains (made with patterned paper in my stash), 5s cut with the slice, and various garlands i had around the house.

an overview of the table. that's her invitation to the left.

begonias from the grocery,photos,invitation

cookies and cupcakes from back in the day bakery. i made the cupcake toppers using SC notions, girls paperie embellishments, and toothpicks.

sprite in the bottle, with a flower embellished paper straw to drink out of. straws from shop sweet lulu

i put the cupcakes in a three tier basket in flower cupcake wrappers. i added some faux grass to the basket as well (yes, i really stuck with the flower theme..HA!)

marshmallows dipped in candy and flower sprinkles, another overview of the table

i filled watering cans (from the dollar spot at target) with bouquets and embellished the cans with doilies, slice cut flowers and 5s, and jbs buttons.

flower pinata...sadie was SCARY with that stick!

cute little ones dressed in florals

 

gifts from mama and daddy

 

window decorations made using dollar store flower doilies and slice cut flowers

favor boxes. these are from michaels. i topped them with doilies, gerbera daisies, twine, and tags cut with my slice. i stamped "❤ h" with studio calico stamps.

in the boxes:

flower socks from target dollar spot

flower shaped pot of lip gloss from michael's dollar spot

tiny flower pot with planted marigold or daisy seeds inside- target dollar spot

flower ponytail holder

2 flower hairclips

 

the pinata goodie bags. these are from shop sweet lulu. i topped them with doilies (also from shop sweet lulu) and 5s cut with my slice (do you sense that i got lots of use out of my slice???)

how CUTE are these flower pots i found at michaels? they matched our theme and colors PERFECTLY!

living room...a pretty sweet dance party took place here. HA!

entry area...martha stewart pom poms, photo banner, favors,etc.

 

i think this banner is one of my favorite things from the party. i found it at the party store, in the fiesta section. it's made of plastic. i added fabric flowers (thanks ginny!) and photos of h to it to make it a bit more special.

the mantel...lots of h's and layouts of my sweet girl. i kept the ice cream cone wrapper banner there too.

i had the idea to set up a "party photo booth" outside. i bought a few yards of floral fabric and hung it on the porch.

i set up a basket of accessories for the girls (HUGE sunglasses, beads, mustaches, leis, and a bunch of flower petal headbands and hats) and let them dress up and pose together.

h took a photo with each guest...so fun! we are going to print the photos and send them with our thank you cards.

the birthday girl and her gifts and the look on her face that made ALL the work SO worthwhile.

shirt by amy tangerine

it was hard work. it was. but also REALLY REALLY fun. and best of all? after the party was over tonight, harper crawled in my lap, put her little hands on both sides of my face and said

"thank you for making my birthday so special, mama".

and i melted. i would do this every day of my life for her.

i love my girl.

xoxo

s

she slays me.

**giveaway still open in post below!!**

 

she slays me. always has. 

with her big heart, big words,big personality,big brown eyes.

she pays so much attention to how others are feeling, and this makes me so happy.

four year olds are, by definition, pretty egocentric. but she is actually very in tune with the way people around her are feeling.

she slays me with the things she says.

right now she calls  bikinis "zucchinis". and says "nusually" instead of usually. and headbands "husbands".

but everything else she pretty much says the right way. when did that happen?

she is tenacious.stubborn. long-winded,spazzy. she sings constantly, talks incessantly.

she is doing really well in school, reading, writing...and we found out this week that she got into a school for kindergarten that we REALLY wanted her to attend.we've been praying and praying that we'd make the best choice for her...and the lottery was already drawn a month ago and we weren't picked. got a call friday that we were chosen off the wait list...we are so excited for her.

she is playing around with the idea of not listening to us, and making sassy faces. but she regrets it the instant she does it and apologizes immediately.

ahem* sounds like her mama. speaking before she thinks and all that.

 

she slays me. always has.

with her wild hair, wild eyes, wild sound effects, wild heart.

she thinks she's all tough but the moment she gets scared, or hurt, or feels bad, her bottom lip wobbles

just like it has since she was a newborn

and then her face does the full-fledged crumble and she wants me to hold her.

she slays me with the things she does.

like the time jimmy told her to whisper something in my ear and she misunderstood and walked up to me and slapped me right across the face.

she felt SO bad. and jimmy couldn't stop laughing.

he said i had the same look on my face that i did when she was a baby and slapped me across the face with the bacon packet in the grocery store.

she slays me with the things she says.

she calls the babies "shes".

as in "i put a binkies in she's mouth".

she is quick tempered, athletic, loud, rough,smart. maybe too smart for her own good. she's a comedian.

she's such a nurturer. always wanting to hold or feed a baby. having to be reminded that even though she loves the babies, she has to be GENTLE with them!

she is independent, tall, taciturn.

 

reading this, i have to say i'm loving watching my girls grow into such individuals. it's the coolest thing to observe their similarities+differences.

i so look forward to learning things like this about the littles.

right now they slay me with their big crazy eyes and fat rolls. but i can't wait to see their little personalities emerge.

 

love my girls.

happy wednesday, y'all!

xo

s

 

welcome back, friend.

dear camera-

oh, how i've missed you. it's so, so nice to have you back.

i admit, i went a bit nuts this morning, snapping away.

but the girls didn't seem to mind or even notice, i forgot how fast you are!

some of the things you captured took my breath away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

some of the images you captured made me laugh:

 

 

 

 

and some images just made me plain old happy:

 

 

welcome back, friend.

thank you for allowing me to capture on film what i feel in my heart and see with my eyes.

happy tuesday everyone!

back soon with the gussy sews winner!

xo

s