Precious Hands

I know, two posts in one day! But I almost missed out on this weeks theme at IheartFaces!

This weeks theme is all about "hands on" and doesn't have to include a face.  It's just a bonus that mine still does have one!  And isn't it the sweetest little face?  This is Reagan, at 3 days old.  She was a month early so she was teeny tiny.  I love how giant her daddy's hand look next to hers....

Head on over to I Heart Faces and see more "hands on" photos!

The Big FOUR!

My sweet Skylar is four today. Not to be cliche, but when birthdays roll around, I always feel like time is moving too fast for me.  This past year she moved from being a toddler into a precious little girl.  Here's a look back on the last four years.

She.....

is my only brunette ...

sucked her thumb for a whole week before realizing the binky was her favorite...

could sleep anywhere...

has always had the biggest, bluest eyes...

has always looked cute in pigtails...

has always smiled for the camera....

is such a ham....

loves frosting...

has gone through a major surgery...

loves to be outside...

is so beautiful!

She also climbs on everything and jumps off of anything (but I somehow manage to NOT take pictures of that!).  She is a fantastic sister! She is incredibly bright and creative.  She's pretty fearless when it comes to trying something new (including food).  She is my little sunshine and snuggler and I can't imagine our family without her.  She is quite a spunky monkey and we love her so much!!

Happy Birthday our sweet girl!!

An afternoon snack

I may be "uncool" in some ways, but I think having s'mores for an afternoon snack is pretty cool.

It's pretty sticky and gooey too! 

A win-win!

I have been SO blessed with blog giveaways lately! I plan to highlight a few of them here so you can share in the awesomeness.

The first one is a giveaway I won from Kelly (fellow mom of three and all around super designer).  She did a review for Capture Your Memories Stationery and gave away address labels.  After looking at Norma's site on etsy, I knew we just had to have the family note cards also.

Norma was a dream to work with!! She contacted me right away and asked me to pick out my "caricatures" for our labels and cards.  Within hours she had a proof for me to review.  After I sent the "ok" she printed away and I received them three days later!!

Her prices are super reasonable and I think they are GREAT personalized gift ideas.  I love to find great deals and love to support those that do creative work from home too!!

Here is the artwork from our cards:

Cute huh?! I couldn't leave the doggies out! :) I even let the girls pick their characters and colors.  Great product AND customer service....you can't go wrong. :D

This is not a paid endorsement. I'm just a grateful winner that wanted to share!

Can't stop laughing

I read this post from my IRL friend Nikki and I cannot stop laughing! It's Reader's Digest or Parent's Magazine-worthy.  I hope you enjoy it too!

Jeans

A post with (gasp!) no pictures.  Sorry.  It's not that I don't have photos to share.  I'm just being lazy.

We've had a few casualties this week.  Three pairs of jeans to be exact.  Two of them were Reagan's and one pair was Skylar's.  Holes in the knees.  *sigh* When my mom was running a clothing business she took a few classes in fashion.  I remember her telling me that each piece of clothing has a "lifespan."  A certain shirt may have a "life" of 30 washings.  So, it could last a couple months if you wear it often, or a few years if you don't have it in the rotation.  The problem arises when you purchase or receive clothing that was previously owned (as I often do!).  I love a bargain!  So I'm not usually surprised when those items end up with holes in the knees after a couple months.  But since I don't pay much, or sometimes nothing at all, it's not usually a big deal.  But one pair of Reagan's jeans were purchased BRAND NEW (of course not at full price, but that's beside the point), in August.  That's six months! What in the world could she be doing at school that she could wear through denim in a matter of months?

So, I did what every thrifty mother does....I told her we could put a patch over the holes and her jeans would be good as new.  We're not talking those rectangular dark denim patches our mothers sewed onto our jeans.  They have MUCH cuter options now (like hearts, flowers, or butterflies).  Her response? "You can put a patch on them, but I probably won't wear them.  I don't think anyone else wears patches on their jeans."   *sigh* I knew the day would come....I'm officially uncool.  :)

On a sidenote: the only brand of jeans that I have been able to hand down from Reagan to Skylar are GAP.  I guess you really do get what you pay for.  

My funny Valentine

We don't make a big production out of Valentine's Day at our house.  Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be reminded how much I am loved, but our gift to each other in the last few years has been not spending money on gifts that could go to something else.  We exchange cards with heartfelt words (that I save, and he tosses a week later).  His card for me this year made me cry.  Admittedly that's not hard to do, but still...it was special.  I gave him a sweet card too but it had to contain some silliness! Anyone watch "Modern Family"?

What Valentine's Day does, is remind me of the weekend that we got engaged.  We had been dating for 8 months, but had been friends for almost 2 years.  Of course we waited until we were 3000 miles apart to start officially dating.  He was working in Virginia and I was working in California.  We saw each other about every six weeks (I was a pro with priceline and it was pre-9/11 so it was easier to fly, and he was able to meet me at the gate...I miss that part.  But I digress).  In our conversations prior to my "Valentine" weekend visit, he had been talking a lot about having me move out to Virginia after my contract was up so we could at least be dating in the same state before we got married.  It wasn't my ideal, but I understood his reasoning.

I was not able to get a flight out for the actual Valentine's Day because it was mid-week and I was still working.  So I waited until the 15th and flew out to Virginia.  We had plans to go to a nice dinner the following night in Shockoe Bottom (a historic part of downtown Richmond) after he got off from work. We had a fantastic dinner (in which we discussed when I would move to Virginia, where I could live, what kind of job to look for etc.) After dinner, we walked through the cobblestone streets and he said he wanted to show me one of the oldest hotels in the area- The Berkeley. I think he made something up about a view or a rooftop deck or something (can't remember).  I just know that it had started to rain and it was nice to get inside.  He went to the elevators so I followed.  He got out on the top floor and walked to the end of the hallway where he pulled out a key and opened the door.  I walked into a huge, beautiful suite with roses and a small treasure chest.  He said it was my Valentine's gift so I opened it.  Inside were tons of little white strips of paper, folded in half.  I pulled out the first one and it said "I love you because you're amazing." Each one had something similar on it.  "I love you because....".  At the bottom of the chest was a piece of paper that said "Will you marry me?" on it.  In the shock of it all, I didn't process it right away.  We had just spent an hour discussing how we were NOT going to get married right away! So, rather than jump up and down and say "yes" I looked at him and said "Are you proposing?!" Storybook stuff I tell ya! I'll spare you the details of the crazy weekend after he proposed (a water main break, an employee smoking pot in our room, a hotel change, two room changes, and being evacuated from a movie theater because a shoe store was on fire next door).

Nine years later, I don't think I could love him more.  He works harder than anyone I know.  He's an incredible daddy to our blessings.  He loves the Lord and prays with me daily.  He lets me be me and loves me in spite of my flaws (it helps that there are so few! hehe).  He knows how I take my coffee.  He is a great cook! And he makes me laugh like no one else.  It's just a bonus that he's so stinkin' handsome too!