After 3 1/2 years of being a mom, I still have no idea what I'm doing.

Have any of you figured it out yet?!

One thing I figured out the other day was getting Henry to his room for nap and bed time really quickly. The older they get, the slower they seem to go up the stairs...to the bathroom...brushing teeth....bathroom again....wait, a drink!...and on and on. 

It is one of those silly things that I let drive-me-crazy.
I'm sure we all have that thing that irrationally makes us want to pull our hair out, right?
I've learned lately that my reaction and attitude to the day plays a big part on everyone else's behavior. I'm trying to be more encouraging and all around more fun to be with right away and things go so much more smoothly all day long.
So the other day when we were headed upstairs for a nap I decided to "race" Henry.
"I bet I'll beat you to your room!"
Well, let's just say naptime and bedtime are turbo speed now and it's great.

So help a girl out.
What are some of your best parenting "tricks"? :)

Mr. Stevens

I can't believe October is just around the corner!

I am excited for many reasons.....one being:

Sufjan Stevens

In Minneapolis.

With RJ.

And some crazy, good friends.

Wa Hoo! 

Hope you all enjoy this beauty of a day!

Wreath Tutorial

When I saw this, I knew I just had to do it.

I looooove it.

The problem was that I wanted to do it NOW, but didn't want to spend any money.

So I went through my Christmas stuff and found a wreath I already had and went through all my fabrics and flowers and came up with something that was free, easy, (and I think) cute!

I cut long strips of the black fabric and wrapped it all around the wreath, securing it with hot glue every now and then. I also burned 2 of my fingers. Excellent!

I took some black and white fabric and wadded (is that a word?) it up and glued it to make a flower.

I also found some orange flowers I had from an arrangement in my porch and some of my satin flowers I made the other day and glued it all together.

I added some greenery, but didn't like it so yanked it off.

Instead I made some silk fabric turquoise leaves. Much better!

Now, how easy is this?

I'm talking it took 30 minutes. MAX.

I'm sure you all have a wreath and scraps of fabric to do this right now without even going to the store! I wish I had some fake fall leaves, but I don't so maybe I'll add some later. Or a cute pine cone would be fabulous too!

And here she is in action:

Now, about this door. Should I paint it black? Would it just end up being a mess and chip like crazy or should I just go for it?

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend and enjoy this gorgeous weather!

18 months

Harper. 

You turn 18 months old today!

I have been horrible at keeping up on your baby book.

(Like....I haven't opened it since you were born.)

Bad mommy. Bad!

So let me get a few things down.

Hmmmm.....you started walking mid-June.

You haven't been too interested in talking (so different Henry!) until recently, but understand everything very well.

You've been saying the usual hi, bye, nigh-nigh, shoes, baby, etc for a while, but are starting to repeat more and more what we say. 

You have a funny (cute) voice.

For a lot of the summer you were super feisty and screamed a lot, but in the last week you have totally changed and are back to your happy, easy-going, self.

You like picking on your brother. You know what bothers him....and you love it.

The other day Henry was putting together a big floor puzzle and you naturally got in the way. This made him mad so you layed yourself down on top of the puzzle with a happy smirk on your face and wouldn't move while your brother sat there and cried.

You know, stuff like that.

But you're so cute when you do stuff like that it's hard to get mad.

You're figuring out your spoon and fork and doing pretty well!

(and I'm learning to relax a little and let you try even when it's messy)

 

So, Happy 18 Months!

Harper Bloom. Har-Pear. Harper Bloomin' Onion.

We love you!!

kids

My two lovelies have never really gotten along. I've had visions of what it would be like to see the 2 human beings who came from my womb laugh and play together instead of yelling and screaming and hitting each other. 

Yesterday.

Yesterday!

I had a (short) glimpse of what that day happiness will be like!

I nearly shed a tear....but was interrupted by having to break up another rumble.

I know there will never be perfect days, but those 10 minutes were enough for me!

Monday, Monday

Happy Monday!

Hope y'all had a great weekend. We had a nice, relaxing time. Did nothing on Friday or Saturday and then my parents came down for the day yesterday. Harper is feeling better and Henry is acting better. Thankfully!

I really wonder if Harper had been feeling not so well for a while. She is so pleasant and happy again. It's a much happier environment in our house!  AND Henry is finally sleeping in a little later so we're not woken up by him before the crack of dawn everyday. 

The weekend was so full of fall weather. The rain got a little old after a while, but I loved wearing sweaters and using blankets to watch movies on the couch.  I was super happy to pull out a $3 sweater I had gotten at a garage sale earlier this summer. It's warm and cozy and pretty sure I'll wear it every day. (except for today. It's hot!)

I paired it with my favorite bird bracelet I got from a dear friend and another bracelet I got for $.25 at a garage sale. It was a very vintage-y sale so I figured it was old, and then saw it a few days later at Target....I still got a great deal though!

I paired it with a $1 necklace (garage sale) and a $3.89 shirt underneath (Goodwill) and $2 pants and $2 shoes that were both garage sale as well.

And entire outfit for under $15! I'd say 90% of my outfits consist of at least one (if not more) pieces from Goodwill and garage sales....it's a fun way to shop!

I was also excited for the fall weather because it put me in the mood to make pumpkin cupcakes for our Acts group tonight. 

Have you seen these cute cupcake tins at the store yet? I found them at Dahl's. 

Fun! And just $2 for a pack of 36.

Hope you have a great start to your week!

Purse

A sassy purse for a sassy girl.

Stuffing in her Target coupons. 

Making momma proud!