Family Musings

I did a little better this week at trying to appear "put together." It will never happen 7 days a week since I stay in at least 2 and some days are morning rush out the door doesn't allow time for anything other than throwing on my mommy uniform. Playdate Chic Shirt: Old Navy, old; Cardigan: No Idea;  Shorts: Lane Bryant clearance; Belt: Wal-Mart, $4; Bracelet: Accessory swap; Necklace: Fancy Flea, $3  Sweet Sunday Chic Top: Kohl's, someone else paid for it; Earrings:  Premiere; Necklace: Sterling Grace; Hair Flower: 31 Purple Power Chic Dress: Wal-mart, $12; Leggings: Target, old; Belt: Thrifted, $0.70 The next four weeks of fashion are going to be entirely different! I am participating in the October Dress Project and will be styling the same dress for 31 days! But I'm not the only crazy one! There are 18 other women in Lakeland doing the same thing. Last night we participated in a photo shoot with Nate Mundell Photography . Here is the sh...

It is so fun to me to watch how my children's personality and interests develop over time. In fact, it might be one of my favorite aspects of being a parent. It's a good reminder to me that that God makes all of us different, and that is a good thing. Recently, Mary has been certain to let us know about her personality and interests. Her favorite activity right now is playing with her "friends." This is how we refer to the myriad of dolls and stuffed animals that live in our "friend box" downstairs. Mary is incredibly caring towards them and loves to put them to bed. She lays them gently on a pillow and then searches for a blanket to cover them. Sometimes though, she puts so many of her "friends" to bed that we don't have enough blankets for all of them.     The Twins      Not enough blankets for everyone, but no one is alone.   And a laundry hamper makes a nice soft spot to rest.        If Mary can't find a b...

Inspired by a friend's FB status update, I wrote my own, short version of the popular "If you give a" series by Laura Numeroff. For better or for worse, here it is: If you give a toddler a chocolate croissant, he'll want some milk to go with it. And as you go to the kitchen to find a clean sippy cup, you'll remember that all the cups are still in the car. On your way to the car for a clean sippy cup, your neighbor will want to chat with you. While you are chatting, the neighbor will not be able to keep her eyes off your clothes. You think you must be pretty stylish today. Once you get back into the house, you'll need to go into the bathroom to rinse the cup out (because the sink is still full of last night's dishes). You'll walk into the bathroom and then stare in horror at the mirror as you realize why your neighbor was checking out your clothes. As you trudge upstairs to change out of your now chocolate stained clothing, you'll remember that you...

Fall may have arrived according to the calendar, but for those of us in FL, we have to be a little more creative to entice Fall, and cooler temperatures, to arrive. Apart from burning a pumpkin spice candle, I thought a preschooler craft might be in order this week. It might convince Fall that we are serious about its arrival! Last week Charlotte and a friend made handprint trees. They are easy to do if you don't mind getting some paint on your hands and arms. First, find some brown tempera paint. Wait, you don't have brown tempera paint. That's ok. I didn't either. Until Google came to the rescue. And I learned that you can combine the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) to make brown. Sounds great. But then, I didn't have any yellow tempera paint. What's a anxious crafter to do?  I improvised.  Orange is made of yellow and red, so combined with blue, I had brown! (This also works with purple and yellow or green and red.) Once yo...

Inspired by some blogging friends, I've been trying to bust out of my jeans/capris and t-shirt/blouse routine. And since I'm always texting or calling them to ask if something works, I though I might give them a bit of a break and ask all of you. My idea is to post a couple of what I think are my fashionable outfits each week and let you politely and constructively chime in with your thoughts. This week, I have only one picture. It is the outfit I wore yesterday. I like this outfit because it includes a skirt, which I really do prefer wearing. I also like the accessories because I know how boring this outfit was before I added them. Skirt - Kohl's clearance, Shirt - Local Consignment Shop, Belt & Necklace - Lighthouse Thrift Store, Bracelet - Accessory Swap, Hair Flower - 31  I picked up several belts at the Lighthouse Thrift Store this week and this one is my favorite. Not only did it only cost $0.70, it is brand new and genuine leather with a chocolate brown s...

I. Am. A. Mom. What does being a mom mean? On the surface, being a mom means... I discuss poop way more than I ever thought I would.. I don't usually have time to read the news. Sometimes I stay in my pajamas until just before my husband comes home. My knees have callouses from playing on the floor so much. I know the Veggie Tales theme song by heart. Lunch often consists of leftovers off my children's plates. I don't shower as often as I'd like. I can give you the pros and cons about all the area parks, but I can't tell you the difference between Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, or Herman Cain. Looking deeper, being a mom means... I get to mold a life, or two. Someone is always watching me, and learning from what they see. Loneliness is not a stranger. It can be hard to take conversations past the surface level when little ones are running around. My heart walks around outside my body every day. My own health often gets put lower on the priority list...

How is it that Charlotte is already trying to plan her Halloween costume? It's nearly 7 weeks away and she is already letting me know what she wants to be. And that she wants to make her own costume. Before I show you her idea, I'll confess that after last year's Charlotte's Web  themed costumes for my girls (a pig & a spider) I had intended to carry forward with a literary theme every year. But this year, Charlotte wants to be a robot. Here is the head she has already started decorating. She's added a little bit to it each day this week.  Help me out friends! Can I be the momma that let's her 4 year old design and build her own cardboard robot for Halloween? I just don't know, especially since she's at the age where kids start picking on one another for things like this? How to I balance encouraging her creativity and individual spirit without subjecting her to the possible ridicule of her peers? Particularly at such a yo...

After a successful Box Day (for which I'll post the details later), I was really looking forward to our first official day of homeschool. We even bought and had a friend customize new back packs for each girl. I thought Charlotte was looking forward to it as well based on her excitement over the summer and when we opened our box of books from Sonlight. Then, this morning came. And she fully realized that preschool was going to be at home (aka Not. Real. School). Oh my word. Our first morning of school was not off to an exciting start. After we were all calmed down, the three of us settled down in our school room (otherwise known as the Dining Room). Our plan is to include Mary as much as possible so that she becomes accustomed to this particular learning environment (more on how she'll be included later). We started practicing our Bible verse for the week (Proverbs 4:20), read some stories, talked about the seasons and special dates for our family. And we also made...

Mary had a special day on Monday as the whole family gathered to celebrate her 2nd birthday. We do low key birthdays around here, but we all have a good time just spending time with one another. First, our day started with some pool time. Mary really isn't too crazy about being in the pool, but she finally warmed up after spending some time playing with John (her cousin's grandpa). Charlotte is also getting more brave in the water. And I couldn't resist showing off the beautiful sky we all played under. Michelle helped me make Mary's birthday "cake." It was inspired by an idea in Hello, Cupcake. Then adapted for Mary's favorite colors and what was available to me at the drug and craft store. A closeup. :) Mary did an excellent job of blowing out the candles and she didn't even need the help Daddy was ready and willing to provide over her shoulder. Enjoying her pirouette "candle."  She was so excited to ...

The girls love doing things together, so I decided that this year, we'd do a joint photo session to commemorate their birthdays. Here are my favorite pictures, in no particular order. This one is on my wall as a big 10x14! The best individual picture of Charlotte all day. I confess, this is my favorite picture ever! Charlotte is now 4 and Mary is now 2. I'll be close behind them with my own birthday in less than 2 weeks.