{capture the moment}

Dinner & a Sneak Peek

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I figured it would be best to start this post with another sneak peek!  This is a little piece of a new background set we are releasing this month.  I am so excited to share this new set with you next week as we countdown to the June release, because it offers a very innovative concept that we are looking forward to playing off of throughout the coming year!  You'll love it just as much as Polka Dot Basics, if not more!

Today will be a busy, happy Sunday in our house.  I have gotten up early this morning to prepare for dinner guests we are having this evening.  As I've said before, I love to cook.  One of my favorite tasks is chopping.  There is just something therapeutic about the precision that really speaks to me.  We are having two couples over tonight and we are really looking forward to their company.  The menu I have planned is a simple summer compilation that we will be eating outside.  The weather is hot & muggy today, but the shade of the evening should bring some relief and it looks like we will be able to eat under a blanket of a clear starry sky.  Here's tonight's menu.  I will try to remember to take photos of each of the dishes and share recipes with you throughout the week!

APPETIZERS
cheese & olive tray
bacon cheese tartlets

SALAD
tossed roasted corn & avocado salad
roasted tomato & basil vinaigrette
homemade rustic croûtons

ENTREE
David's famous grilled tenderloin steak

SIDES
asparagus & prosciutto bundles with lemon
double baked potatoes with crumbled bacon & fresh chives

DESSERT
fresh strawberry & mango salsa with homestyle vanilla ice cream

I hope you have a wonderfully blissful Sunday!

Thinking Happy Thoughts

This morning I'm thinking happy thoughts.  It's been one of those mornings where you wake up with a smile on your face, noticing all the little things.  Little things that make you happy.  Like all three kids playing together quietly, the morning sun streaming in and the excitement of what the day may have to offer.  Today will surely be filled with lots of happy little things.  What a blessing to be able to appreciate such overwhelming happiness at this moment.  So thankful for my life and all of my happy little thoughts.  What are your happy little thoughts today?

Morning Person

I have always been a morning person.  Even in high school, when most teenagers enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in, I loved the idea of getting up with the sun and grasping the new day by the reigns.

I love to experience the sunrise; all of the warm, rich colors.  The silence that drapes over the earth as everything and everyone is still sleeping. The feeling of peace that you gain from experiencing a simple, yet magnificent act of God.

I love the opportunity that the day holds.  What will come of the day?  Who will I reconnect with?  What will my creativity bring?  What blessings will I experience?  What new adventure will unfold?

I love to plan my day.  Make a list of goals & tasks.  See what can be accomplished in the next 24 hours that will benefit myself, my family, my home, my business.

I love to read with a cup of hot tea (peppermint is my favorite).  Especially the latest issues of all my favorite magazine subscriptions that have arrived in the last day or two.  I just love a new magazine.

I love having a few quiet moments to myself before the house wakes up.  Ponder. Think.  Savor where I am right now, in this moment.

I love early mornings.

Homemade Halloween...

We went to our neighbor's Annual Halloween Party this afternoon, so the kids got to wear their costumes for the first time.  We took THIRTY picture total and this is the best shot we got.  Ethan is actually absent from many of the shots because he mysteriously wandered off!  LOL!

Ethan is an adorable little chicken.  Hannah decided to be a 60's Glamour Girl and Owen a Magician.  Now, I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, we never purchased costumes.  We just used our creativity to transform things we already owned.  It seems today that costumes are all about cartoon characters or dark gothic looks paired with cheap materials and horrible construction.  And these store bought versions aren't cheap either!  I decided that this year we would do it the old fashioned way!  Although, much of it we didn't have around the house, it all was found in unconventional places to create a costume that they can use all year for their "make-believe" box!

Owen's suit jacket I found on a clearance rack for about $10.  I made the simple cape for him (it even has lettering on the back that reads "Owen the Great"!  HE loved that part!) for a few dollars in materials.  His wand is a wooden dowel rod painted appropriately.  He has a silk carnation pinned to his lapel and the top hat was found at a party store in town.  Hannah's shirt & skirt came from the clearance rack at our local Goodwill for a grand total of $3.50!  I altered them a bit for size, but that's all the changes that were made to those!  I made the fur stole for her and contributed some of my own costume jewelry to the cause.  They both LOVED their costumes and I am sure they will get a lot of wear out of them in the future as well!

Did you do anything fun this weekend to celebrate Halloween?  I would love to hear about it!

Love this little guy...

He pulls the cat's tail.

He likes to stuff whole rolls of toilet paper into the toilet.

He even flushes things DOWN the toilet that don't belong.

He colors on the walls with crayons.

He throws his food across the room.

He sticks foreign objects up his nose.

He just HAS to put his hand in his own poo every single time I change his dirty diaper! (UGH!)

He plays with the remote and changes the settings so we can no longer operate the tv.

He attempts to call foreign countries with the telephone.

He pours his milk into my new shoes.

He screams as LOUD as he possibly can whenever we're in the car.

He thinks "No" really means "Yes".

He gives me THE best hugs ever.

He can light up a room with his smile.

He is starting talk.  Can't wait for "mama".

He has the bluest eyes that twinkle when he recognizes you.

He crinkles his adorable little nose when he thinks something is funny.

He plays with Matchbox cars with an amazing sense of concentration for his age.

He like to lay his head on my shoulder when he gets sleepy.  (His head fits just right, like a puzzle piece falling into place.)

Gotta love this little guy.

8 years and counting

David and I just returned from a little weekend getaway. We celebrated our anniversary with a little trip to Nashville, just the two of us.  It was such a luxury to dedicate time to one another with no interuptions.  It is always so magical to get the opportunity to reminisce about how much has changed in the eight years we have been married (this is a phto of us dancing on our wedding day).  We have moved four times, brought three children into the world and still have a special spark that passes between us whenever our eyes meet.  I think about how both of us have changed so much and yet we have grown closer rather than further apart.  David is my best friend and I am thankful everyday at the blessings he has brought into my life, OUR life. 

I don't think I have ever shared the story of how we met.  It is literally a fairytale.  My best friend Misty became engaged to Jeremy, who was enlisted in the Navy.  She asked me to be her Maid of Honor when it came time for wedding plans.  I agreed.  At the reeception she thre her bouquet into  the small crowd of single ladies, myself included, and I happend to be the lucky one to catch it.  Jeremy proceeded to throw the garter, and a dashing young man happend to catch it.  Little did I know that he was my soul mate!  David put the garter on my leg, and just as tradition holds we ourselves got married 18 months later! How many couples have a photo of the very first moment that they laid eyes on each other?  I am so thankful that we met and have had this opportunity to build a life together.  Here's to 8 years and counting!

 

brothers...

Owen has always been indifferent about the whole idea of a little brother.  When we brought Ethan home from the hospital, he just shrugged it off as an everyday event.  Owen complained about all the noise that a baby makes and didn't like the idea of sharing "mommy time".  When Ethan became mobile, Owen was very sensitive to the idea of somebody else playing with his toys.  So the past year has been a hard transition for Owen, to say the least.

Today was a turning point of sorts.  I was in my bedroom folding laundry (I promise that not ALL of my posts will refer to laundry, but it does seem like I'm always doing the ongoing chore!!!) and heard giggling from BOTH boys at my feet.  I glanced down and saw Owen throwing a ball to Ethan, and then Ethan rolling it back.  Ethan thought it was funny to see the ball rolling and Owen thought it was funny to hear Ethan laugh.  An ongoing cycle of giggles was taking place between the two brothers.  Needless to say, it made me smile.  My little blessing of the day; captured.

One Year...

It still astounds me how unbelievably fast time goes by.  A year in the life of a baby is such a magical event, almost a fairytale.  They start out so small, their limbs curled up against their body.  Their eyes closed in a peaceful sleep more often than awake.  You know them so well, but at the same time they are a stranger.  The itty bitty diapers.  The soft fuzzy hair and tightly clenched fists.  And then in the blink of an eye; they become mobile and independent.  Their personality begins to form, likes and dislikes.  You learn all about them and who they really are.  What type of person they are growing into.

My most vivid memory of the first few weeks with Ethan involved doing laundry.  I remember it was the first time I had done the task myself since we had returned home from the hospital.  Our laundry room is right next to our master bedroom, so I have always folded all of the clothes on our bed.  I had a routine established.  Hannah & Owen each had a pile for pj's, a pile for pants and then shirts were placed on hangers and laid flat in front of their respective piles.  I had already folded and hung a few things of theirs from that particular load, when I came to one of Ethan's onesies.  I remember just glowing from ear to ear, smiling to myself.  I had to start a new set of piles. 

So, as I was doing laundry this morning, I had the luxury of revisiting this moment.  The three sets of piles for three very individual kids.  The size of the clothing in the third set seems to increase with every month, as Ethan grows and changes into a toddler.  I know the next year will go by just as fast.  But at least that third pile of laundry will be around, even when the diapers & bottles are gone.  Happy Birthday, Ethan Alexander!

New Year, New Resolution

Funny thing.  One of my resolutions on January 1st was to be a better blogger.  And here it is only nine days into the year and I have already failed miserably!

All is well here.  Just getting back into the swing of things after holiday travels.  We decided to drive home to Maine for Christmas this year, followed by a stop in North Carolina on the way home to see my grandparents.  3,300 total miles traveled during our two week journey.  What an adventure it was, indeed! I thought I would share a few of my favorite moments...

first visit

We had a special guest drop by our house Friday night.  We weren't expecting her and she caught us off guard.  Owen had been eating a snack after school and came wandering in to tell me he lost his tooth.  I had him repeat his statement a few times, and really, I didn't believe him until he showed me the evidence.  And there it was.  A little baby tooth, no bigger than the head of a pearl pin.  Along with a gaping space in the bottom row of his teeth.  It was all such a surprise.  There had been no build up to this event, like complaints of a loose tooth or conversations about the Tooth Fairy.  I had to collect my thoughts.  Why wasn't I prepared for this?  What was our "lost tooth routine" going to be?  What traditions did we want to put into action for this special occasion? What was the going rate for a tooth in today's economy?  Why wasn't there some kind of hot line to call or book to read for more information on this important milestone in parenting?  So I gave a quick call to my best friend Wendy and asked her all of my pressing questions.  I came to find out that $2 is the current rate for a tooth (gosh, I only got a quarter!).  After getting all of the details squared away, I knew that the tooth had to be put in something special until the Tooth Fairy came to take it away.  I had seen several different methods, from pillows with pockets to decorative boxes and bags.  I didn't have time to run to the store, so I used what I had on hand.  I looked through my stash and stumbled upon a small mint tin would be the perfect size (it is itty bitty, measuring 2.25" x 1.75").  In 10 minutes I whipped up this special keepsake box for Owen to place under his pillow.  A place to keep his tooth safe until the Tooth Fairy had come in the middle of the night to retrieve it.  David and I sat Owen down and told him about what would happen that night and presented him the box.  He was very excited about the whole affair.  What a special moment!  The box will be put away until the Tooth Fairy makes a return visit to our home!

(project supplies: stamp & ink- Stampin' Up!, patterned paper- Anna Griffin, ribbon-American Crafts, mini mint tin- www.impressrubberstamps.com, Bernhard Modern font- Microsoft Word)