and she's off . . .

In a few short weeks our gal will be headed off to kindergarten! This mama's heart is feeling all sorts of emotions! I know she is ready! And I know I wasn't meant to home school so off she must go!

I saw this quote on pinterest a couple weeks ago. It's everything I want Cleo to keep in her heart as she steps through those doors. It's hard, isn't it? To let go of the control and let our kids fly and find their way. I don't want her to lose that twinkle in her eye when she's not included or someone makes fun of her crazy curly hair or she gets in trouble at school. Breaks my heart just thinking about it!

So sweet girl, go! Have fun! Be you! Be Kind! Ask questions! Rest! Eat your lunch! Listen to your teacher! Make new friends! You're going to be an awesome kindergartner! xo

summer bucket list

I love summer.

The sunshine.

Trips to the candy store for ice cream.

Flowers in my window boxes.

Dirty feet.

The sounds of kids swimming in the pool.

The smell of fresh cut grass.

Nights on the porch with good friends.

Every year we make a list of all the things we hope to do in the next three months. Do you make a list? I made this printable to help you get started! I hope you fill it with so many fun things! Let's make some memories this summer!

 

recently a friend of mine asked me about interior decorating . . . i told her i don't know anything about it other than my own philosophy: i decorate from the heart! i don't hang or display anything in my house that doesn't mean something to me. as i was looking, i realized that the things that mean the most are my mini collections. 

my cameras . . . several of them belonged to my grandparents and a few i picked up at a flea market while on our rv adventure. i love that my friend, jamie, captured cleo "taking pictures."

these glass boxes (made by a friend) hold so much family history. i spy my great great grandma's view finder, my parents at prom, my grandma's birthday book, sand dollars that henry found for me, my mom's first birthday candle holder, her playing cards, my dad's baby book, hankies . . .

one of my very favorite collections . . . it's my version of a family tree for my kiddos.  

{when the color is bluck, b&w is always my fix} their great grandparents, great aunts and uncles, grandparents and kev, ben and me all have a place on this wall!

ok this is a favorite too! i have two columns on each side of my sink that display my  great-grandma's salt and pepper shaker collection. 

when we were designing my kitchen i knew that i wanted a special place for the salt and pepper shakers and my fiestaware  . . . 

i think this is an interesting collection. these belonged to my grandpa who was in the turkey biz. i don't know much about them other than they were wing labels/clips used in butcher shops to let customers know what farm the turkey's came from . . .

this was from my grandpa's farm

 : : : : : : : 

do you collect anything? 

happy monday

my camera definitely earned it's keep this past weekend!

: : : : : : : : : : : : : :

F R I D A Y

in between snapping pictures, my helper would ram a vintage baby buggy into my clients {ie friends husband} shins . . . thanks mike for being a good sport! 

S A T U R D A Y

i finally remembered to bring my camera to the dog park . . .

it's a beautiful, perfect place for taking pictures!

i am not in enough pictures with my kids! i hate seeing myself in pictures . . . i am either too fat, or my head looks huge or i don't have makeup on . . . but this is me! this is what i look like on most days . . .  so embrace it, right?

S U N D A Y

sunday brought this blue eyed beauty . . .

but not before these three had to "test" out my set up!

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to our beautiful, silly, no fear, singing, nose picking, dancing, Mickey Mouse loving girl! 

one bummer, one brag

we have a 4th grader in this house that would like nothing better than to be home schooled . . . he just doesn't love school. it makes me sad, anxious and on some nights, even angry. 


henry's 3rd grade teacher totally understood because she too had a son that hated school so she came up with this . . .  one bummer and one brag a day. it's simple {or at least it should be} he has to tell me one bummer {and it can't be going to school} and one brag {i would love to hear more than one but let's not get crazy} tonight is the first night since school started that he had a brag for me! he wasn't even off his bike! it was a game they played at school and he wanted to share it with us at dinner . . .


the object of the game . . . to say the name of a veggie or fruit without showing your teeth. i know, non stop fun at this house!  kev was pretty good at it. i on the other hand, not so much!

cleo had no idea what we were doing but she wanted to be a part of the fun!

and this is what a "brag" can do for a 10 year old's spirit!

happy heart

this pretty girl was on her way to bed . . .  but this big tub of water was calling her name! and she just couldn't resist . . . in she went pj's and all! { her older brother was using them for his cucumber boats.}

it doesn't matter that these two are almost 8 years apart . . . they can have so much fun together. just another part of an ordinary day that makes my heart happy!

Happy Birthday Henry!

H-Bomb turned 10 on Sunday! TEN! TEN YEARS OLD!!
It's so cliche but really, where does the time go?


He had a small pool party on Thursday with three of his buddies . . . nice boys, from nice families! (I hope I can always say that about the friends he chooses)

Lou, Henry, Jackson and Sam

Before the boys got too out of hand I had each of them jump off the diving board so I could make these . . . 

Let me just say: thank god there were only 4 boys! My fun idea gave me serious anxiety.

I googled pool games before the big day . . . tons of different ideas, but we decided on this one . . . the Frozen T-Shirt Game. I should have followed these directions instead of my own . . . the key here is to wring out the excess water BEFORE you freeze the t shirts . . . took a while for the big thaw, but the boys had a blast! (the tshirts had seen better days after this game FYI)

a party wouldn't be a party with out invites . . .

and cupcake toppers . . 

and thank you notes . . . 

(I am old school . . . I think kids should still write good ol' fashioned thank you notes)

Happy Birthday H-Bomb! You sure make my life more fun! Love you Kid!