A Bit about Singing

My kids have decided to take up a new little habit these days.  And if you know me well, then you wont have to wonder where they got it from.  Quite often, they like to sing instead of talk.  Just imagine Madeline saying/singing the following to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle, "Ethan Ethan pass the toys.  I want to play with them right now."

It's even gotten to the point where they will fight occasionally in song.  "I will be mad at you!"  "Oh no you wo-on't"

And well, I just have to say, that not only does it make me giggle, I couldn't be more proud!  There's nothing like singing your way through life!

June's Ten Things

I think June has been the fasted month yet!  And I'm happy to join today with Emmy Mom





and share with you my Ten Things to Smile About in June!

1.  Watching my kids camp in the back yard with their Daddy.

2.  Having a wonderful week of playing with cousins from out of state and wishing we all lived closer to each other!

3.  Signing up for the summer reading program at our library (reading the book "Matched" in less than 48 hours - so good!) and listening to Ethan read novels to me.

4.  CUPCAKES!  In June I made mini cupcakes, ginger cupcakes, chocolate marshmallow cupcakes, and caramel cupcakes.  Oh, and I didn't gain a pound!  Serious.

5.  Father's Day.  I loved watching my kids excited as they jumped out from behind the kitchen counter in the morning and shouted, "Happy Father's Day, Dad!"

6.  Enjoying our city's CountryFest, with parade and carnival rides.

7.  Slip-n-sliding at our friend's house.

8.  Painting my laundry room with Todd the other night.  I LOVE it!  A fresh coat of paint always makes me smile.

9.  My kids are healthy again after weeks of ups and downs!

10.  Being able to swim in Bapa and Mimi's pool.

More Cupcakes

I know.  I really should stop now.  I've made so many treats in the last few weeks that I've lost track of all of them.  But I HAD to make these.  Dulce de Leche Cupcakes!  Since my dad was out of town for Father's Day last week, we celebrated it with him today.  He loves caramel.  Understatement.  And he made my day when he said these were the best cupcakes he'd ever had.  (Um Eric, they totally tasted like Jon's Specialty!). 

I love cupcakes!  Oh yes, oh yes!  And my favorite picture of these is over on my food blog . . .

Family Photos

Even though I took these a while ago, I wanted to post a few pictures of my friend's family here.  I had so much fun taking their pictures.  It was a beautiful family in a beautiful place! 

Two Braids

Madeline liked getting her hair done in two braids yesterday!  And I'm just wondering where my baby girl went!

Celebrating Summer!

Yesterday was the official first day of summer!  And around here, it really was the first day that actually felt like summer too.  The kids were so thrilled about the hot weather.  It was only in the 70s, let's be honest, but after a high in the 50s on Sunday, high 70s feels plenty hot!  Sooooo, (thanks to our friends inviting us over) we celebrated summer the right way . . .

With a slip-n-slide!  I seriously might have to get us one of these.  Talk about FUN! 

Guest Posting

Good Morning!  I just wanted to let you know that I'm guest posting on somebody's blog today.  Do you want to know who?  I thought so. . . But, well . . . you'll just have to click here and find out!  (that's makes you wanna look, doesn't it?!)  :)

Happy first day of summer!

Our Weekend in Photos

A walk with Bapa

 A cool red car

 A PINK boat

 A bushel of fun

 Presents for Daddy

 Smiles for Mom

 Signs from the Kids

 And FOUR generations!

Not-Your-Average Cupcakes

Chocolate, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Toasted Marshmallow Cupcakes!

see more here.

Happy Father's Day

I just wanted to take a minute and wish Happy Father's Day to all the amazing Fathers that are in my life:

First, of course, my Dad!

 I love you Dad!  You are truly the best!

 And my Father-in-law and Todd's Grandpa

 And my husband!  Thanks for being such a great father!

Hope all you Fathers have a wonderful day.  I love you!

Makin' me Smile

at the bottom of the stairs

My Day so far

I was getting dressed in my bathroom when I heard Madeline wake up.  It was a little earlier than normal, which was good because we were needing to leave soon.  I was going to drop the kids off at my friend's house and then head to the doctor. 

I could tell Madeline had gone into Ethan's room, so I kept getting ready.  That's when I heard Ethan start to cry.  "Mom, you need to come in my room RIGHT NOW Mom."  His crying was a hopeless kind of crying, not the angry or fake kind.

When I stepped into his room, I felt like crying too.  Madeline had had a major diarrhea blow out.  And it was all over the off-white carpet and Ethan's bean bag chair and blankets.  It was all over. 

By the time I scrubbed the carpet and put laundry in the wash and Madeline in the bath, it was time to go.  No breakfast.  If you know me, you know how big of a deal that is.  :)  I dropped off Ethan and Madeline went with me.

Once at the doctor's office, I went to check-in and got a blank stare.  "Oh!  No one told you?!  No one called you?  You've been bumped.  Your appointment has been changed until next week."

I drove home wondering how much nicer the morning could have gone had they remembered to mention to me that my appointment had been changed.

So now the kids are watching shows, and so I decided to sew myself "the simple skirt".  Maybe not the most flattering of all patterns, but hey, it has put a smile on my face.

Because it doesn't smell like poop, and it didn't tell me I couldn't wear it until next week!

Shorts and Pants

Ethan's old pair of navy pants seemed to turn into floods over night.  So today I made him a new pair!  Sewing pants with an elastic waist is so easy and quick.  I knew they were, but I think I forgot.  I'm going to have to make some more this fall!

 Below, you can see his new pants on the left.  The sunlight really changes the color, in the house they really look like the picture below.  And what did I do with the floods?  I made him some new summer shorts of course!  I seriously love fast and easy sewing projects.  You can clean and clean and the house is still messy, but when you sew you have something to show for it.  And something fun to wear.

And since the navy thread is still on the machine, I might just keep going with the navy theme.

Ethan

Just look at this cute kid!

 And then look at his little legs.  Ouch!  And this picture makes them look good.  But boy, he sure is a boy - all bruises and scrapes . . .

And it doesn't stop him from smiling!

Test Shots

I'm doing a photo shoot of my friend and her family this evening and wanted to get some test shots first.  Naturally, I had to use my kids for the practice models.  I just LOVE how these simple test shots turned out.  The one of Madeline cracks me up.  She could be a pouty model with her flowing hair and expression . . .haha!  But the Ethan pics are just super cute. 

Which one do you like best?  The first is natural.  The second uses a diffuser.  And the third uses a diffuser and a reflector.  I probably prefer no diffuser and a reflector, but I didn't do that.  I guess I'll save that for tonight.

There's more than one Artist in the house

I've had a lot of Proud Mommy Moments when it comes to Ethan, my little artist.  He's done a lot of really great pictures that blow me away at times.  But well, this week Madeline decided she wanted her art to be a little more noticed.  She wanted to make sure her Mama knew that her brother isn't the only artist in the house!

Nice work Madeline . . . I couldn't be more proud . . .ack!

Can I just say, we are having some mighty good fun with cousins!

Baby Shower

Last week, I hosted a baby shower for a friend of mine having her first baby!  First babies are so exciting.  All babies are, but there is something about that first one.  The shower was a lot of fun.  I took the opportunity to do some more baking too - I love when there's lots of people to help me eat my treats!



 I made very similar cupcakes a couple years ago for my sister-in-law's baby shower too.

 Dipping the cupcakes in melted frosting has become my favorite way to frost cupcakes.  I love the smooth look, which makes decorating them nice and easy.  Plus it's really quick.  AND it uses less frosting.  Not usually a fan of gloppy frosting.  Although sometimes, if it's the really good kind . . .

 Anyway, I made her a little pair of baby shoes.  Sixth pair I've made.  Sixth pair for a boy.  And I don't think this pattern is changing anytime soon.  I know a few friends having boys . . . what's up with that? 

Lots of fun all around! 

Ethan's Preschool Graduation

I think I'll be playing catch-up week this week with blogging.  Not sure why I feel behind.  Maybe because Ethan's last day of Preschool was on May 27th!

 He was really cute during their program!  His part was to welcome everyone and he spoke loud and clear!  Some of the kids you couldn't understand at all, but he did great!

 Madeline was proud of her brother too!

I took pictures of him with his friends, but don't think I should post their pictures here.  His teachers hugged him at the end and then looked up at me and said, "Good luck with him in Kindergarten . . . I don't know what they're going to do.  He's ready for college!"  I chuckled at that one.

Good job buddy!  Kindergarten, here we come!

When the Boys are Gone . . .

Ethan and Todd are out for their Father and Son's camp.  So look what Madeline and I did:

She wanted me to paint my fingernails the bright pink too, but it was a little much, so I opted for the french manicure instead.

We had so much fun, and Madeline lined up the nail polish and looked at them and played with them for over half an hour.  We are loving the PINK!

We also went out shopping and look what I picked up:

I don't know what it is about dishes, but I am so enamored by them lately.  I have the strange urge to just have a whole cupboard full of non-matching, all beautiful and interesting plates.  Just think how fun dinner would be if you could pick a different plate each night?  Am I the only one who thinks this?

Fun.

Bathroom Makeover

Remember how I was drooling over this?  I finally decided to attempt making my own!  It's called waves of ruffles, but I called it waves of pins.  Though waves of ruffles is a better name, because when I calculated how much fabric I needed, I realized that it was going to take 72 feet of fabric to make the ruffles! 

I also gave the bathroom a new coat of paint, called silver screen.  It's a lovely gray color and I love how it feels so clean and fresh in there now!  I made the ruffle towel too, out of two cheap ones from IKEA.

The other wall has surprise artwork hanging on it for when you close the bathroom door.  The bathroom is all neutrals: white, gray, and black, so I think it's hard to color balance the pictures, but you get the idea.

And here's a little bit more of my shower curtain . . .

And more!

Now I have my very own waves of ruffles.  And instead of $98, it cost me $29!!