Stephanie Howell

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

sign from fisher kids

 

it might seem strange that the real housewives franchise got me thinking.

well, it always makes me think “are you kidding me?”

the women on that show are the epitome of tacky. foul-mouthed, gossipy, selfish, narcissistic, co-dependent.

wow, can you tell i have strong feelings on this? ha!

really…i’ve been watching this show for years and i don’t know why. i suppose it’s a good escape. a guilty pleasure.

but it’s gotten to the point that i can’t watch because it’s sad. they really need some perspective.

and this is what really got me thinking.

i need some perspective too. my girls do as well.

there are bigger, more important things in this life than begging for a toy at target in the dollar spot. or tattling on each other. or fighting over who’s turn it is to sit in the front of the bathtub.

there are more important things than me worrying about how dirty my house is. or caring about what other people say to me. there are bigger things than me wanting to get in shape.or getting caught up in worrying about j.

there are people out there who are sick. who have nothing. people who are lonely. people who don’t have anyone to love them…see that’s the thing. i have someone to love me. he’s gone, but i have him. so many people don’t.

yesterday i decided the howell girls need some perspective.

so i called around, and next week we are going to start volunteering.

i think it’s high time i teach my girls how to serve others. and how to serve our community.

once a week we will be helping others in some way.

here’s what we have so far.

– making drawings and cards for the elderly

– delivering meals on wheels

– sterling rides- taking the elderly to grocery shop or run errands (yes, i’m crazy. but there’s room in the minivan for one more person, so why not?)

-friday night bingo at a nursing home here in town

-contributing to the local food pantry

-arts and crafts at a senior center (do you see a theme here, i think the elderly would LOVE my girls and vice versa).

clearly there are lots more options, but this is what we have so far. having four kiddos under 6 greatly minimizes what we can do. ha!

 

i’m hoping this will teach us all to be grateful for what we have. i’m thinking this is a good thing. and i’m wondering why we didn’t do this much sooner?

i know why- b/c sometimes i don’t look beyond me. beyond us.

here’s to changing that.

xxo

s

june kit- paper moon

addons i purchased-

star dust

countdown

 

for the love of sadie

12×12

 these photos make me LAUGH.i’m not exaggerating here, i laugh out loud when i look at them. especially the one of her in the jumparoo.

these kraft doilies (in star dust add-on) were hands down my favorite thing this month. you may notice, as i used them on all my layouts except for one.

i cropped the photos into circles in PSE. yes, i finally caved and got PSE 9. i love it, i cannot lie!

 

never in a million years

12×12

this is the second time in recent history i’ve used this sassafras starters paper as the base for a layout. it’s not “me” at first glance, but i really truly love it.

super cute tag by amy tan in the main kit this month. i love it, as i’m not a stitcher.

pssst- i’m determined to start hand embroidering. we’ll see when i get to it…but it will hopefully find its way onto my pages too!

i think this might be my favorite layout this month. just so ‘my life’ right now. 🙂

 

don’t you dare call her tiny

12×12

after i turned this one in to SC i added dots to the middle of the “d” and “o”. i reaaaallllly don’t like alphas w/out holes in them. that’s why i used the yellow buttons every other time i used these letters. oh well.

these photos are AWESOME. had to d a playful layout to match them!

 

so fancy

12×12

a layout about our date night! i did the patterned paper/number blocks on the right to mimic the floor in the photo of my “fancy shoes”.

this layout is very dark in color choices, but i am really drawn to it.

i cut a bunch of the kraft doilies in half to make a border. told you i loved those doilies! I NEED MOOOOOOORRRRREEE!

sooooo

there you have it, my june SC layouts.

hope you enjoy!

xo

s

sitting practice

 

teacher gifts (thanks for the idea lisa!)

school awards (i LOVED this)

and speaking of ‘ashion, is it odd that i love the outfit harper chose last night and want to wear it?

 

i’m pretty sure that this was not the reason she won “most fashionable” although you never know with four and five year olds. it’s very..um…monochromatic?

letters to daddy (that make mommy cry when she reads them)

homeade bubbles:

and laughing until we cry (really, tears were streaming down my face)at lucy’s reaction to pears.

girl’s got some meat on her bones, huh?

LOVE. 🙂

hope your weekend is filled with happiness and laugh until you cry kind of moments.

xxo

s

eta: the cupcake toppers i made for harper’s birthday party are on the SC Blog today. Go check it out!