.etsy.

Items from the expo yesterday are now up in the Etsy Shop!

Halloween items will be shipped priority to make it to you in time!

.expo.

j+w was able to attend my first expo as a vendor today!

If you are joining me from the expo, welcome!!

Everything that was for sale at the expo today will be going up on the Etsy shop tomorrow!

Thank you so much for coming to meet me!

 

 

 

 

 

.kiddos.

Anyone and everyone will share their parenting horror stories.

If you share you want to get pregnant, you get to hear horror stories about morning sickness.

Then once you are pregnant, you get to hear horrible labor and delivery stories (a bit guilty there!)

Then it's about sleepless nights with your newborn...

The terrible twos...

The horrible threes...

It goes on and on. 

Why do we do that? 

Obviously it can't be as bad as people say otherwise I think we probably wouldn't make it far population-wise.

I think it's because it is practically impossible to share the other part of being a parent.

The hug from your toddler after a tantrum is forgiven.

The good-morning smile.

The sweetness of "mama" and "dada" as first words.

Whenever I was sick or sad, I remember my parents rubbing my back in a special way.

Today my babies were sick (horror story for me!) and I got to rub their backs in that special way. 

It was one of the most draining days of being a parent, and probably one of the most rewarding. 

I think we share the hard parts because they're, well, hard!  Sometimes, we need backup.

I know having my kiddos sick has made me extremely homesick. I want my family. I don't like feeling alone. 

But it is so amazing to be wanted by little boys when they are sick. To have the power to make it better like no one else.

No matter what the stories people tell, at the end, it's worth it. It's worth everything. 

.harvest decor.

It doesn't feel like fall here (I'm still wearing shorts, for crying out loud!).

But, my boys and I did decorate a little.

I am totally loving white pumpkins this year! (And fun spider table runners!)

One of my favorite fall vase fillers is brown rice. Filling a large bowl cost around 70 cents! 

Right now, I'm in a flameless candle stage of life. Little fingers can't get burned...and little fingers around this house definitely like to touch.

The bats above the couch are my big boy's favorite. He says "good morning" to them almost every day.

 

 

 

.hard life.

We've been having one of those weeks...

...extra snuggles, extra lounging...

...yeah, it's a hard life.

At least, my one year old would like you to believe that. 

And, yes, that is a nest made out of every single pillow in our house.  

.handmade + time.

I love to give gifts that are handmade.

Besides being very personal, a handmade gift gives the one thing money cannot buy: Time.

A gift that took time to make is a gift that cannot be bought.

Plus, handmade is so fun.

Handmade is not always perfect. Or cost effective. 

But it is so satisfying. 

One of my sisters recently had a birthday, and I was stumped on what to get her.

Until I found French Press Mornings.

Have you visited Jenny at  French Press Mornings before? I love everything she designs! 

And her Encouraging Wednesdays are simply the best!

So, I printed out my favorite designs from here, laminated them (I adore my laminator), and made a clutch to hold them all out of linen. 

It was the perfect gift.