foldies, stickers,gray dot paper, background paper- sassafras

paper that journaling is on- crate paper

punch- apron lace by fiskars

photo printed on canvas

journaling:

11 years ago you were just a west point boy i met at a bar. you had a beautiful smile and you could play the guitar. you were more interested in parties than in good grades. 11 years ago i was hoping you would call after we shared a kiss. 11 years later, you are my heart. you are my hero. you are the father that i prayed my children would have. beyond what i could have imagined. you have the ability to love with all of your heart, to be a tender and loving father and husband…but also a brave warrior. you are a leader. a friend. the glue, the heart of our family. you are everything.

 

happy fathers day, jimmy. we love and miss you.

and to my daddy, happy father’s day. i love and miss you too.

xoxo

s

**moxiemandie giveaway still open below!**

Overheard:

Sadie: knock, knock!

Harper: who’s there?

Sadie: POOP! (said with great glee)

Harper: EWWWWW! sadie caroline howell, that is NOT attractive!

♥

Sadie: OW! someping hurts!

Harper: oh…i know what it is! hold on, let me check.yep, that’s it.

Sadie: WHAT????

Harper: you’re too big for your britches!

♥

sidenote: does anyone really think your kids don’t listen to every word coming out of your mouth? ☺ harper kind of sounds like a mini stephanie in both of these examples. hehehehe!

 

On the Table:

I made the most delicious slow cooker chicken and turkey sausage gumbo yesterday.

It is a weight watchers recipe (5 points!!) and I can’t get over how seriously yummy it was!

 

Trying:

Kickboxing last night for the first time. It was probably my least favorite class I’ve taken so far, but it definitely worked. My abs are super sore today. I need to try spin, but to say i’m scared would be an understatement. haha.

 

Reading:

well, i say “reading” very loosely as it’s been sitting on my bedside table for a week. not much time for reading these days, but i am getting a paragraph or so in each night before i fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion. HA!

 

Making:

trying to make things using my july kit from SC. i got add-on one and though i love everything, you could say the exact same thing about crafting that i said about reading. no time these days.

summer+exercise=priorities shifting and much less time for creative play. i have to figure out how to fit it back in. 🙁

i do love the layout above, though!

 

saving:

being smarter about the ways i’m trying to save. learning it takes patience and smarts. i’m doing better and feeling less frustrated…and finally figured out about all of the “multiples coupons” that baby companies offer for moms of multiples!

it takes some time and phone calls, but almost all baby product companies will send you major coupons and vouchers for free products if you have multiples!

also scored a pretty good deal here the other day:

i saved hundreds of dollars (seriously, like 300) on a double stroller from phil&ted that i’ve been eyeing for ages.

if you haven’t joined zulily, you definitely should. the deals are incredible and shipping has gotten much faster lately!

 

photos:

 

miss h playing “princess kate” and miss h wearing her new hat,which she says is “SOOO savannah”.

 

sadie looking at me disdainfully…but gosh i love her green eyes. and lucy’s thighs of thunder.

  

sitting practice (they are SO proud of themselves!) with lucy on the left, fourth of july outfits from carter’s

 

modeling their new amy tangerine tees (lucy is in the green). these are some of my favorite all time photos of them. i can’t believe they will be SEVEN months old next week!

have a beautiful, blessed weekend!

xoxo

s

means WAY more time for slip n slidin’

and way LESS time for bloggin’

can you tell who is more crazy and fearless on this thing? i have no idea where she got it.

she’s just like her daddy.

if you need us, we’ll be in the back yard. i’ll be busy convincing harper that no…dragonflies are not,in fact, bats and checking sadie for broken bones.

happy weekend.

s

we go.

and oh do we go! grocery shopping, dinner at subway, the library, the aquarium, target,the playground.

we have to go so that i don’t go. go nuts, that is. 🙂

i was THRILLED to find a grocery store that could fit both car seats across the front of the cart. LIFE CHANGING!!!

soon, the littles will be sitting in the grocery cart and no more carriers. YIKES! i’m nervous about the transition, but i know i’ll figure it out.

 

we play.

forts in the living room (yes,that is a baby pool underneath the fort…no water, ha!),swimming in a giant rubbermaid container (b/c who needs a slip n slide, sprinkler, or baby pool when you have a box?!?!?!?), grocery store, and tummy time.

 

we read.

we read library books (LOTS during the summer!), but our favorites are the ones that J recorded for the girls. here harper is “reading” one to lucy.

 

we bake:

using egg replacer, of course! SOMEONE (ahem- sadie) went a bit out of control w/ the pink sugar. mmmm. crunchy.

 

we get summer cuts:

 

and then i think HOW did sadie not have this cut her ENTIRE life? it suits her perfectly!

and jimmy says she looks so much more like me now that her hair is like this. i like that. 🙂

 

we snuggle:

 

one thing i realize with twins is that i just CAN’T hold them as much as i want to. we joke that harper’s feet never touched the ground until she was one 🙂

well, it’s not the same with these two. 🙁 but i make a concerted effort to snuggle, hold and interact with them individually. they LOVE the attention.

 

we exercise:

since last wednesday, i’ve been to five classes. so far i’ve tried turbo kick, zumba, step, and an OUT OF CONTROL cardio class where i swear the instructor was on speed. i SWEAR it. it was SO hard. i did take it directly after i took zumba, and maybe in hind sight 2 hours of cardio in a row wasn’t the best idea.

i don’t know why i didn’t do this sooner. i LOVE taking classes, and my girls love playing in child watch at the YMCA. it’s a win- win.

and something i didn’t anticipate? is how good it is for me mentally and emotionally! i need that hour break…it has made me happier and more positive!

hoping i start to see results soon. i FEEL so much better, i just can’t wait to SEE it!

 

and at the end of the day, blessedly, thankfully…

we sleep.

 

so grateful for the blessing of spending this summer with my girls. recognizing it for what it is…a gift.

see you soon, hope your wednesday is beautiful and blessed!

xoxo

s

 

 

barely any time to craft=super simple. foldies are about as simple as you can get…they are dimensional punch out flowers. i need layouts to come together quickly these days, and this was perfect.

journaling: when sadie told me she wanted to feed  lucy, i grabbed my camera all ready to see a sweet and lovely moment. instead, i got this. sheer panic. not sure if it was the sour pears or the death grip sadie had on her shoulder but lucy was not loving it.

made using: sassafras sunshine broadcast. foldies, stickers,border stickers.

alphabets: american crafts

is it wrong that i’m laughing at this?

happy sunday!

xxo

s