Show us what you make or sell

Today is all about small shops!!!!

If you have a shop - on etsy or an online boutique or you make or sell anything - today is a great day to link up! 

And if you are in the market - whether it's monogrammed bibs or makeup- maybe you can find the right hook up today and help out another fellow woman while you get what you need!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Good stuff

So nothing exciting happening around here lately but it's just the good stuff of life.  The normal stuff. 

Like buying plants at Lowes and taking our first ride in the race car carts!!! 

Harper had another birthday party this weekend at Chuck E Cheese.  This time I took the little kids so Hollis could play while Harper was at the party.  I planned to just keep Will in the stroller but I let him ride a few rides and he had so much fun.  Thankfully our CEC is actually pretty clean! :-) 

This sweet girl.  She is SUCH a good helper to me.  I am so thankful for her!

Sunday Harper and the kid's choir sang in church Sunday morning and Sunday night they had a big musical.  It was SO good.  They practiced Friday night and Saturday morning so that was a big chunk of our weekend.  I'm thankful for a wonderful music program at church.  

Harper and some of her friends after the performance.  

Harper is off of school for two weeks because of her year round schedule.  We are trying to work in a little fun each day.  Harper's big request was to go to the mall.  She wanted to "try on clothes and stuff".  I can't help but laugh and this pre teen suddenly living in my house! So we went to the mall and she and Hollis brought money they had been saving up and bought a couple of things.  It was a good lesson in how much things cost.  ha! We are trying to learn how we have to work for money and things we want! It's a hard lesson - even for adults! 

Wilby was a good sport to tag along on the shopping trip.  I think he's just happy to have his sisters home.  

We let him play on the mall playground to make it up to him for dragging him to stores.  He had the best time! 

Will Holden also had his one year well check on Monday.  He was a BIG boy! He's 26 lbs (95%) and 31 inches (80%) and healthy! 

The only thing I hate about Arkansas and spring time is tornado season.  We had a scare last night.  Our cell phones and the city alarm started going off about 12:45.  That's a good way to jolt you out of bed.  I made a mad dash for all the kids and we went into the closet.  Thankfully it passed quickly and most of us went back to bed.  Will Holden continued to party until about 2:30.  Needless to say we are all dragging today.

How cute is this boy and his tractor? I will just leave you with that.  

Crazy 8

It's no secret that I love dressing up my kids.  I know the window is short and soon they will be preteens and wearing their favorite styles they pick themselves but for now I still like picking out their outfits.  

Crazy 8 contacted me and asked me if I would want to try out some outfits and blog about them.   I could NOT say no! I love Crazy 8 and it's a rare place that I can find clothes for both a one year old boy and a girl that wears a bigger size.  

My girls helped me pick out the outfits.  We coordinated Will Holden with them.  

Look at the hat.  I can't even.  

Crazy 8 knew the way to my girls' hearts and sent them accessories like a necklace, bracelets and headband.  They have all kinds of cute things from jewelry to shoes.  

And they are running great sales right now for summer clothes! I just finished switching out our closets today for summer and I need to stock up on more casual shorts and Crazy 8 has so many great options! 

My girls' style is really changing.  They are not into wearing much smocked anymore - Harper wants to look older but I like her to still look like a little girl.  I'm glad for stores like Crazy 8 so we can compromise!




Sponsored by Crazy 8.  The opinions are mine.

ONE

Well this little lump of love turned one today.  

So that was a very fast year!!!! 

This is how we felt about spending his birthday in the church nursery.

He has a tiny bit of separation anxiety.  And by Tiny I mean he hates everyone but his parents.  ha! 

Will Holden you are a BIG ole boy! I will find out for sure tomorrow but I'm thinking you are around 26 pounds.  You wear an 18 month and sometimes 24 month.  You wear a size 4 diaper and a size 5 shoe.  I've lost count but I think you have 10-12 teeth.  

You suck your thumb and only if you have a blanky to hold.  Sweetest thing ever.  

You are a rockstar sleeper! You sleep a good 12 hours or more each night and take a 2 hour morning nap. I wish you could have an afternoon nap but we are always running school pick up then.  Because you don't get an afternoon nap - you go to bed around 6 or 6:30.  Mostly because you are usually rubbing your eyes and crying during dinner.  

Look how you have grown.  You will eat most anything.  You still aren't the biggest fan of solid veggies and fruits - just purees.  But you are working on it slowly.  Eggs are your favorite and yogurt.  You also go crazy for refried beans if we are eating at a Mexican restaurant.  

I didn't get a picture every month but this is one of my favorite things - watching you grow.  I joke that I hope you will have a good sense of humor and want to recreate this for your high school graduation.  But maybe with shorts instead of a diaper.  ha! 

We are having a party in two weeks because it was just easier to put his party and his baby dedication all in one weekend so the grandparents only had to make one trip.  Add in that it's Mother's Day, my MIL's birthday and I'm speaking at a church event and it will be one full weekend! 

I felt like you still needed a cupcake to celebrate the day! 

Let's just say he liked the cupcake! 

"Where has this been all my life?" 

All three of my babies on their first birthday.  Some how I have a green eyed child, a brown eyed child and a blue eyed child.  But they all have the same nose and mouth.  And cheeks.  :-)

These sisters of yours are just insanely crazy over you Will Holden.  I wish you knew how much they adore you.  I don't know if you will ever walk because they carry you everywhere.  And do everything for you.  I hope they will always love you and take care of you.  And you just light up over them.  You lay your head on their shoulders and say "AWWWW" in the sweetest way all the time.  

I can't wait to see what the next year will hold for you! I imagine I will be really tired by this time next year.  But Happy! And so thankful that you joined our family! 

I love you! Happy first birthday! 

Monogram Swap

Today is a great day to drag out those monogrammed items and sell them! 

OR are you looking for a few monogrammed items? 

Please put in the title when you link up what the name or initials you have are.  You can also leave comments with what you are looking for or have and maybe you will find someone who matches! 

I have been looking forever for anyone with little girls with this initial:

If this is you - please contact me!!! I have things I would LOVE to give you! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Shiny, Happy People

A few weeks ago a lady messaged me and said something like "You seem to have it all together.  I have 3 kids too and I feel like a mess."  At first I just laughed at how I wish she only knew.......and then I felt sad.  

Because of course it looks like everything is great.  She sees my highlight reel.  

I take pictures of my kids when they are dressed cute and we are heading somewhere.  Not when they are in mismatched clothes and have uncombed hair and dirt on them from playing outside.  I pick the best Instagram filter possible to make me look better - who doesn't? 

I post picture when we are all smiles and when I have something good to share. 

But that's only 10% of my life.  

And the other 90% of life is good but there are a lot of messes.  And I want to share the good because that's what I want to remember but I don't want anyone getting the impression that my life is all shiny and happy.  I think when you scroll through social media -that's what you see.  And you might start to think everyone has a sparkly house and perfect kids and they are all balancing life way better than you.

So to be transparent - let me tell you about my day yesterday.  Now these are not REAL problems.  I know people are struggling with LIFE altering issues and hard things and it's all relative of what is hard and what is not.  But I just want to say that I feel like I'm just barely treading water most days.  Like I'm spinning plates on sticks and they could all crash at any moment.

I'm wondering if any of you feel the same way?

Will Holden went about 4 nights where he didn't sleep.  He was getting up for hours on end and screaming (I think I finally have narrowed it down to dairy bothering him and did some adjusting and he slept last night! Praise God - I'm a new woman today!) When I don't get a lot of sleep - I'm not my best (to put it mildly).  I got up late yesterday because I was exhausted and kept hitting snooze.  So I was racing around getting the kids ready for school.  The girls were fighting their daily fight over whose hair I was going to do first (WHY DO THEY CARE????) and I sort of lost it.  I finally get Harper to school and race home to try and get ready for a luncheon we had at church.  I look over and Dawson is drooling huge globs of mucus and clearly has a bad mouth infection.  The school calls and Harper's hearing aids aren't working.  So I have to hurry and get up there before I can go to my luncheon.  I put Will Holden in the pack and play for a few minutes so I can go to the bathroom without him knocking over furniture.  I come back and he's covered in blood (no idea what happened but I guess he busted his lip in the pack and play) and we need to get out the door.  

I feel like a total disaster.  

I go to the luncheon and then pick up Will Holden from the nursery where he's wearing no pants because guess who forgot to pack extra clothes and he also didn't have any diapers in his bag because I had laid them on the kitchen counter and they didn't make it to the bag.  I pick up Harper from school and take all 3 kids and Dawson to vet for appointment.  

All that to say - NO, I do not have it all together.  I have a pile of laundry in my bedroom chair.  I have weeds in my flower beds that need to be pulled.  I have closets that are begging to be organized and I just can't find time in the day.  Well - I can find time but it's about 9:30 and I'm usually so tired by then I just collapse.  

Being a mom is hard work and the greatest experience in the world.  If anyone tries to tell you they have it all together - they are LYING! Or have a lot of help.  Or meds.  

If you are in the area - we are having a wonderful conference on mothering.  Mothering conferences usually seem to be geared towards just young moms but we are covering as many aspects of mothering as we can because we want women of all ages and stages of life to come.  There are twelve breakouts on everything from parenting young kids to adults to parenting your own parents.  There are session for single moms and step moms and special needs moms.  Almost all sessions are led by Christian counselors or professionals.  There will be two main sessions led by two Christian counselors and it will be GOOD! 

You can get more info at www.tangibletruthministries.com and register for the event.  

It's NEXT Thursday and we would love to have you and for you to bring a friend! 

I'm also giving away TWO tickets on my instagram today!   

Tacos, Praisers and Jelly

I'm giving away a t-shirt on my instagram from Bell and May.  I love their shirts - they are SO soft - the kind I like to wear constantly.  And I have this one - it's one of my favorite verses! Check out their shirts - they would be perfect for this summer!!! 

Thursday night we had a women's event at church.  It combined two of my passions - Mexican food and stories of how God has changed people's lives.  It was a wonderful night.  If you have time - you should watch this.  Our speaker Kim Jaggers has an incredible story.

http://livestream.com/fbcbentonville/events/5199352

Our weekend was very low key.  We mostly hung around home and got stuff done.  Scott worked on the yard all day Saturday while the kids and I played and hung out.  We had a busy Sunday though.  Hollis and the preschool choir sang in church in the morning and the night service.

Sunday afternoon, Harper had a birthday party to go to.  This is a group of her first grade best friends.  I'm so thankful for the sweet friends she has made.  She has had the best year.  I hope second grade will be half as good.  I'm amazed at how far she has come academically and all she has learned.  

This little sweet thing was excited to sing in church on Sunday.  

Nothing cuter than when the preschoolers sing in church.  You never know what is going to happen.  Hollis is up on the top row - you can spot her big bow. ha! 

Hollis and her BFF and their matching converse.  

Today Harper had to have a few cavities filled so we headed to the dentist.  She was thrilled.  

She actually did a lot better than this picture seems! 

My friend Marci is a real pioneer woman.  She lives on a bunch of land and has cattle and chickens and a big garden.  She is always giving me eggs and veggies and herbs.  I always feel like the biggest failure when I get around Marci except she is the nicest person you will ever meet.  She never just sits and watches TV - she gets up at 5 and does "chores" and just works all the time.  Her house is always immaculate and everything is so organized.  She invited Harper over to learn how to make jelly.  I should probably feel bad that I just buy Welch's and my friend is showing her how to make it homemade but I know my strengths and this is not it.  ha! Harper loved it! 

We came home with several jars and Marci even put them in cute jars.  Sigh.  

I love that I have friends with all different gifts and that they are willing to share them! 

Show us your favorite on-line boutiques

I love to shop online.  Mostly out of necessity.  I always have at least one small person with me so shopping is basically out of the question except for the grocery store.  So even all the cute local boutiques we have - I will shop online half the time. There are SO many cute ones out there these days -  I thought you could share your favorites OR if you have one - share it!!!

Riffraff is a local store that has cute and fresh clothes.  The owner is super generous and has helped so many people I know that have been in need so I'm always eager to support her back!

Impressions is another cute local boutique that carries a lot of very feminine and cute dresses and shirts! 

Elysian boutique is one that's in our downtown and I have bought several things there.  They are affordable and also have styles that are for all ages!

Gray Monroe has a ton of really cute stuff. This is owned by a blog friend of mine! I love her style!

Fancy Free Boutique is probably my favorite online shop.  I LOVE everything they have.  I like kind of the boho, feminine style and they just carry clothes I LOVE!!!! 

I Do Declare boutique is ran my cousin and is SO cute and I love the name!!

These are just a few of my favorite shops and I didn't even get to kid clothes!! That will have to be a link up for another day.  I'm excited to see where you link to because I might get new ideas!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

What do you need?

You don't know what you've got till it's gone.....


Just a little hair band song to remind me of something I want to ask you today.

When I was at the end of my pregnancy with Will Holden, my dryer went out.  Normally, I wouldn't care all that much but it was not the most fun thing ever to drag Hollis and my big belly to the laundry mat.  It made me realize how much I appreciate having a washer and dryer at home! I know not everyone has one and somehow people survived many years ago without one but I am used to it and I love it.  Also I can barely keep up with laundry WITH a washer and dryer - I can't imagine what I would do if I had to hand wash and line dry everything. ha!

Well, today my dishwasher kicked the bucket.  I'm ordering a new one tomorrow hopefully but in the mean time I am hand washing all our dishes.  I know a lot of people don't have dishwashers but there are not many things I dislike more than hand washing dishes.  And we seem to have a ton.  I usually run ours at least twice a day so that's a lot of dishes to wash.  Especially when I spend most of my day chasing a wild toddler - it's hard to find time to get them all washed.

And then I saw on IG that someone I follow was saying they didn't have a television or a microwave and didn't wish for either.

And it got me thinking........of all the modern conveniences we have - what could you live without and what do you really need? I know our answers would all be different.

Personally I LOVE TV but I could live without it.  And I could also probably give up the microwave if I had to choose between a lot of things.

But I think I have learned from experience that the three things I would most want to keep would be:

A dishwasher 

My iPhone.  I some how survived high school, college and my early 20's without a cell phone (much less a smart phone) but now I feel naked without it.  I just got a new one this past weekend - the one that's the size of an iPad - and I LOVE it.  

And a washer and dryer 

So I'm curious - out of everything - what are three things you would most want to have if you had to choose? What could you do without? 

Snapshots

So just a few snapshots of our life lately.  

Last Tuesday, the girls had dentist appointments around lunch time.  I decided it wasn't worth it for Harper to go back to school for like an hour and it was a beautiful day so we played hooky and went to the park to play and then walked around the square.  

We decided to get ice cream at our local ice cream soda fountain and we ran into one of our sweet babysitters who is now working there.  The girls were thrilled! 

Thursday Hollis had a friend over to play.  She was so excited.  Thursdays are our free days at home and while I still have Hollis home on these days, I have decided it's fun to let her have play dates.  She loves getting to have a friend come and while they play - its easier for me to get things done.  I love watching her play with friends.  

Hollis really wanted to let Will Holden try out the two seater cart at Wal-Mart with her.  He did pretty good.  He has the hardest time sitting up in the front of the wal-mart cart - he is always slipping down.  It stresses me out.  

I love that Will loves to hold a blanket and suck his thumb.  Why is this the sweetest thing to me? We worked in the nursery yesterday with the one year olds.  WH isn't in that room yet but we had ten kids and only two were boys.  And the boys both had little blankies and pacis.  It just makes me so happy to see the sweet little boys and their blankies.  

Wednesday, I spent the day with Laurie (and Will Holden) to celebrate her birthday.  We went to some of our favorite shops and ate at our favorite place - Tacos 4 Life.  We had such a good time! 

We had a very laid back weekend.  We spent most of it at home just doing adult stuff like cleaning. ha! We have a really nice community center in our town that I just joined a few months ago and they have an indoor aquatic center.  I have been promising to take the girls for a while so we finally went.  They had the BEST time.  I forsee a ton of trips soon.  Plus we don't have to worry about sunscreen and it's shallow! 

This boy.  How cute is his Milk and Honey tee? 

He has terrible separation anxiety right now.  He HATES when I take him to the nursery.  The minute we walk in he turns beet red and screams.  It's pleasant.  I had to be at church a lot yesterday between services and meetings so I feel like I owe the nursery workers a few Sonic cards or something.  I know he will grow out of it so we are pushing through.

What can I say? The boy loves his momma.  ha ha ha! 

And Harper was student of the week in her class this week and her teacher also picked her to be the Terrific Kid for the month.  She sent me a sweet email about her and I got to go to the weekly assembly and see her this morning.  I'm so proud of her.

So that's just a few snapshots out of our week.