House-aversary

Do you celebrate your house-aversary? As of Tuesday we have lived in our home for 10 years. It honestly seems like it can't be that long - a whole decade! We purchased our house about six weeks before our wedding and then spent a couple months painting and furnishing. Thinking back over the years, it's fun to see the stamp we've put on our house. We've painted every room, put in wood floors, new carpet, added a few built-ins, replaced the roof, and updated numerous appliances. And that's just thinking about the actual house, not all the life events that have happened in the past ten years.

Carpet before:

Another before:

Afterish:

Kitchen bench before and after (we still need a cushion): 

Desk built-ins (we still need a chair):

Next on our list is a kitchen/bath redo (assuming we don't need a water heater before then). Our kitchen was navy blue when we purchased the house, we immediately painted it white and recently changed it to blue (white always has me seeing spots - it's an eye problem that won't go away).

Other items on our list (maybe in our next ten years):

• expand the patio
• built ins in our closet and laundry room
• new garage door
• replace some furniture
• replace some landscaping
• privacy fence
• redo the fireplace mantel and insert

Of course thinking of this is overwhelming, especially since it seems we've done so little in ten years. Then I remember we've been married, rescued a dog, and have had 3 babies all while living in this house (and suddenly we seem pretty productive).

Linking up with Annie and Natalie today for Thoughts on Thursday!

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day has completely snuck up on me! I tried making reservations yesterday and had no luck unless we wanted to eat at the crack of dawn or mid-afternoon. Oh well. Luckily I already purchased a few presents for the moms in my life. I was thinking of some cute gift ideas (I love a good themed gift) and came up with these:

mother's day gift ideas 

These are all ones I think my mom would love (and one item in a grouping has been purchased). 

• The bird print is from a cute local etsy shop called True Cotton. She has some really beautiful verses too. 

• The books are from Anthropologie and are some of Jane Austen's most beloved stories. And the blanket (from Target) is my favorite blanket! 

• I threw the wallet in there because I need a wallet and who would love one with a gift card already in it!

Are you ready for Mother's Day? It is most definitely my favorite holiday following Christmas and Easter. Usually Chris surprises me with a new dress but since KC is nursing that isn't quite as practical (although I'm thinking of starting a nursing wear series because it is so hard to find nursing friendly dresses). I did mention I would love a dogwood tree for our backyard. 

Friday Finds

Yay for Friday! It has rained all week (so helpful getting back in the groove after spring break). I hope your week has been great and full of spring time things (which I guess technically rain is a spring time thing). I'm sharing with the Five on Friday ladies again and wanted to kick it off with this little prayer:

Source

1. KC can be a great sleeper, but this week was just not her week. Last night I was up probably 5 times and she was just not having it. I gave up at 5 and we both waved goodbye to daddy as he headed off to work. This prayer made me laugh (and their's a boy version too).

That said, I'm so tired that thinking is a bit beyond me. So here are other people thinking for me for the rest:

2. LOVED this post  from Emily A Clark. I'm thinking of check out this book because of it. Such a great reminder in the days of "buy this" "must have that" and that doesn't necessarily fit with our budget. 

3. I've always loved the song "This Little Light of Mine" and thinking of it with this quote makes me see things in a different light (ha.)

I usually follow d365.org for devotionals, but stumbled upon this one after a particularly "dark night" - I see why She Reads Truth is so popular (and I never knew where the phrase "doubting Thomas" came from until the Day 8 devotional).

4. The Land of Nod Bus Tour will be close by at our favorite art studio today. Any body been to one, or going to this one?

5. Let's end with a picture of this girl who has things figured out - squeaky wheel to say the least. 

And now for more coffee and to make it till the weekend... I hope you have a great one!!

Thoughts on Three

If you asked me the biggest difference between having two kids and having three kids, I would flippantly reply about the amount of laundry. It's easily quadrupled. Back when N was our only, a friend warned me that I needed to start liking laundry if we wanted a big family. Lucky for me, Chris loves folding little socks, cute graphic tees, and seersucker shorts (and I'm guaranteed at least one "I'm going to miss this when they grow up" in the process). Honestly laundry and cleaning are huge differences I notice, but probably because they have taken away most of my free time.

all photos from Bower Studio Photography 

It seems from the first year of N's life Chris and I knew we wanted a large family. We both come from really small families and we both really love kids (their little toys, their tiny socks, their funny word expressions). I was pretty adamant I wanted our kids 3 years apart. It worked well with N and T, but then our third took us awhile. In that time we became accustomed to no nap schedules, not worrying about choking hazards, sleeping through the night, and not carrying around diapers. 

Then KC arrived. Honestly in the first few months it really didn't seem to change much - she wasn't on the floor eating Legos, she napped/ate anywhere we were, and we carried on mostly as planned  (just with more coffee). Having three kids was just like having two, except I was extra tired and had a little one attached to me constantly.

But now she's on the move. She doesn't want to sit in a stroller, or be carried, or sleep in the car. So life adjusting to 3 has changed. With KC mobile, I have to watch her pretty closely when she's awake, which means when she's sleeping I'm choosing between playing with the boys or cleaning something. More than one night a week, N does homework by himself. The boys are more likely to bathe themselves as I put KC to bed. My previous stance of no tv or video games has gotten lax as KC's need for my attention has grown. 

From the boys perspective, I play with them a lot less. There's no more time for crafting and less for fun cooking. The boys have more responsibilites. They don't seem to mind, but they do notice. I think overall they are so excited to have KC that there isn't any jealousy (yet) and they even ask when another baby will join our family. They get so excited about her milestones and are truly her biggest cheerleaders (and I tell her everyday how lucky she is to have them). 

From KC's perspective, I think she probably spends as much time in the van as she does at home. She truly has to bend to the schedule her brothers set, but as long as they are around she tends to be pretty happy. I also think as a mom of a third, I soak up moments with her more than I ever have with a baby before her. It was the same when I had T, and I think if we have another baby I may just rock them in the nursery all night long, soaking it in before they are too big to rock. 

As much as our life has changed in just the past few months, I honestly cannot imagine what life will be like once KC is in activities and preschool. Keeping up with boys' school events/homework and very few extracurriculars is tough (we missed crazy sock day at preschool yesterday and I forgot it was picture day for 1st graders). I think of how easy it will all seem when I look back at this time in our lives, when I only had two to shuttle around while the third goes with the flow, her only demand being food and a place to crawl. I always balked at the phrase "It takes a village," but now I have a greater appreciation for it (and for the carpool rides offered, meals made, hand me downs passed down, and playdates).

Linking up with Annie and Natalie for Thoughts on Thursday.

Spring Break Remembered

Yesterday was back to school for N and today it is back to school for both boys. It means I'm back to waking at 5 and making lunches while shuttling around the kids in the van for more hours than I would like to count. But for one week we had a glimpse of what summer could be like, and it could be real good. 

Spring break was full of adventures, family time, and just plain ol' play outside with friends time (and Easter too).

Discovery Place Kids was our first stop, followed by our favorite ice cream. I craved this my entire pregnancy, but it's at least a 30 minute drive so I didn't have it once.  Finally making it there was totally worth holding a crying, upset, baby while slurping down a scoop.

We made pancakes the next morning before heading to church for the children's Easter performance. Only I had the time wrong - we missed the performance but were able to pet the baby animals. 

 This sweet guy was 6 days old. He was born on Palm Sunday and named Palm. His mom, Freckles, was close by. T was the first kid to pet this little one.

We finally dyed eggs. This was long awaited by T. What do you do with your eggs? I usually throw them out. One year I found one behind a picture on a shelf - in SEPTEMBER.

This is what happens when your the third kid on Easter. Two Easter basket items (one of which I already had without thinking about the basket) and empty eggs. KC was still thrilled.

We made it to church and back home for lunch and the all important hunt for eggs.

We spent the rest of the week playing in the hood, visiting the zoo, having lunch with Chris, going to Discovery Place, and exploring uptown.

I am so excited for our summer. T is now registered for kindergarten and I feel like this will be a summer full of togetherness. I hate the thought of both my boys heading off to school full time in the fall so I'm going to start planning adventures now (Chris even mentioned taking 2 weeks off - taking bets as to if that will actually happen!).

Ice Cream Dreaming & Scheming {Clothing}

Poor T is still waiting on his party (which hasn't yet been planned) and yet we are already planning an ice cream party for KC's 1st birthday. As a note, this isn't because I favor KC more, it's because T has changed his mind at least four times about what he wants and each time it's been a place where you call, schedule, pay and they do it all (no planning, scheming, and theme-ing). 

So back to KC's party - it's ice cream themed, a June birthday screamed ice cream! We have a few ideas and I've been thinking of an outfit for ages. Here are a few ideas:

I love the Shrimp and Grits bubble and it's been the front runner. The Gymboree dress (top left) is a great second choice, but I love the Pink Chicken set too (middle bottom)! 

Okay, so now that's out of the way - I'd better call to arrange T's 5 year old bash!