photobooth

we decided to add the photobooth as an option for wedding packages, but of course we couldn't do that until we tried it out ourselves. one night while spencer and i shopped for post pregnancy wedding photographer attire, josh and the big kids had a little fun . . .

her new pose anytime she sees a camera

she is definitely not one to shy away from the camera

the result of josh's request for props.

can you find miller?

everyone loves a popsicle!

like daddy,

like daughter!

once again, she tries to do it just like daddy!

funny faces!

love how he is looking at her!

these pictures make me want to leave this up in our house all the time. don't be surprised if it is at the next birthday party! it is seriously fun! 

things are still a little crazy around here, but i plan to start posting regularly again. so, if you are still checking, thank you! i have lots of plans-my reveal, a couple of tutorials, some thriftiness, a 6 mo photo shoot and more!

just so you know

i'm busy selling some super cute clothes. i will be back soon with my reveal!

she said

this week we are doing the swim lessons thing. yesterday was starting to look a little like last year. i was starting to panic. i told josh i couldn't do it . . . i couldn't have two children freaking out about the deep dark evil of the water while toting an infant while other mothers glare at me. 

so, last night, in an attempt to not have to go to bed, carter went into hysterics about the horror of the deep end and how she is sure to drown. (if you think i am exaggerating, you must have boys.) then miller started saying he doesn't want to go, that he wants to watch her like yesterday (last year). josh calms them down somehow and they eventually fall asleep.

then, this morning on our way, miller is starting to fret and i am telling him don't worry, you don't even know if you will have to go to the deep end yet (knowing that they always go on day 2). carter speaks up and says:

"but, y'all don't even know what i prayered last night. i prayered that it would be so hot that all the water would dry up. it is going to be so hot that all the water will dry up and we will only have to swim where we already do (shallow end)."

i couldn't stop laughing. she was so confident (i love that) that it was going to be answered. what she "prayered" for was such a different request than i would have asked for (take my fear). 

the day went much better even though the deep end was still there. but, tomorrow if it is so hot, you think the sun is melting, you can blame carter.

thrifty thursday

so, i skipped last week because it was a holiday weekend, and, maybe because i need pictures from an estate sale i went to forever ago and i never took them. that is my problem here-if i don't take the pictures when unloading the car, then i immediately put some things to use and clean a few things and, before you know it, i don't even remember what all i bought. i have 3 children, people-out of sight, out of mind. 

but, i did take pictures of a sale i went to a couple of weeks ago. it was near my house and boasted an attic full, tents on the yard, etc. these are my favorite sales. sales where i believe i may find a hidden treasure they didn't know about and sneak it off to my home for only pennies of its value cackling all the way. (i have these fantasies because of all the crazy stories i read on blogs of people from the northwest. apparently, they pay y'all to take fun, kitschy stuff home. oh, one day, my friends. one day.)

where was i . . . so my mom and i head over a little later than planned due to her preparing for family that was arriving later that day. the sale was in a house that was very tidy and the downstairs was impeccably decorated in antiques and high end pieces. i headed straight up to the attic for a pink frame i saw in the pictures. i found it, but decided on the white one below instead. (btw, my friend who came later bought the pink frame!) then, i started digging. 

miller has been wanting one of those sesame street themed toys in the left hand corner. he said he wanted it for spencer . . . until i brought it home, now it is his alone. what you see is lots and lots of vintage fabric (won't that vintage cowboy print make the cutest pants for miller??), vintage patterns (some dating to the 30s and 40s), vintage star wars and sesame street sheet sets, vintage chenille (you may see the pink with white stripes real soon), vintage greeting cards and magazines, and the diaper box is full of random paper pieces that were in the bottom of something else, a vintage beaded hand bag in the original plastic and box, two antique bisque dolls and more (all my mom's finds).
look at those vintage hand embroidered bibs-i can't wait to put them on my chunky monkey!! and buttons, a measuring tape, strawberry pincushion and tiny bobbins completed my finds in the attic. after a quick trip to the car, we headed to the tent where i found some of my favorite things-vintage christmas!!!!! oh, i love christmas! it is my favorite holiday by far! some of my finds included tiny glass ornaments, bells on button cards (i had never seen before), little elves, a santa hat, and lots of ornaments made in japan. how fun are those aluminum martini glasses?? and, then, i found a wooden tool box (see below). isn't it so cute?? it will house something fun . . . once i figure out what, i will let you know.
it was definitely a success! i will post more pictures as things find a home. and, my high chair should be ready for a reveal next week-i had to order something online. happy thrifting!

a grand ole pinwheel

after we found some cheap plastic pinwheels at target, i decided to make my own. carter wanted a flag, but we couldn't find any. so, i thought, oh, i can do that. of course i waited until 10 pm on july 3rd to even look for this template i had seen before. um, huh, maybe i should have read it before because i didn't have any of the things i needed. so, i searched here because she has everything and look what i found. this was so simple. i had everything i needed somewhere around my house. i was too lazy and cheap to print out the template because i had my paper already, so i just sketched it out onto paper and created my own template. the best part- they actually work! 

happy birthday america!

have a happy 4th!

what are you doing june,

june 18th? (2010, that is.) 

i have a date. with a cute little boy. 

i didn't plan my wedding this far in advance, but for him, we will plan ahead. far ahead.

she

. . . is 6 months old today.

. . . has dark hair like her momma.

. . . loves her "friends" on the swing mobile.

. . . smiles like her sister.

. . . loves bunny and her thumb.

. . . makes 3 seem so us.

 . . . has her daddy's eyebrows.

. . . is a happy girl.

 . . . has our eyes, a cute little swirl of hair on the crown of her head and cute little ears that stick out from her head.

. . . is ridiculously strong.

(sits @ 5 mo, rolls both ways @ 3&4 mo)

. . . loves to laugh.

. . . has rubberbands unlike her siblings.

. . . has her brother wrapped around her finger (along with her daddy and papaw).

. . . loves to blow bubbles.

. . . never stops moving.

thrifty thursday

a few weeks ago, i went to two sales in two completely different areas of town. the first one was near my house and i went with a couple of friends. for me, it wasn't that great, but for them . . .

i managed to find 3 things: an old book of poems for children by aa milne, a turquoise metal sewing accessories tin and a 1950s music magazine. 3 measly things. i spent $4.

as you can see, everyone else scored big pieces. for some reason, that made me want a big piece, too. i know, peer pressure. josh had an early wedding that day and the other sale i was interested in was near my parents' house. we packed up and headed to my parents house for a little switcheroo. i had promised carter she could go with us to the next sale. i may be crazy enough to take two children, but i am lucid enough not to take three! when we picked up my mom, she told me she had already gone to the sale and only picked up a few things, but she heard they would go 25% off after noon. so, we headed over. carter was so well behaved and had so much fun. (apparently estate saling is genetic.) here are our finds:

bless her heart, the sun is right in her face. don't you love her medal that she turned into a sash? the following came to live with us: a doll suitcase, a kitchen timer,  an old maid card game, and a turquoise measuring tape still in the package! all vintage. my total was $8. 

we also rescued some jewelry, a tray, a pen set and the plastic flower earring holder. isn't that earring holder a.dorable?? these things went home with my mom.

when carter found the timer, she said "meme, i could really use this." and use it she has. after i cleaned it up, she and miller have played and played with it.

the measuring tape is now at home in the sewing tin from above and the doll suitcase . . .

 

is now the new home of ruthie's things.

it is in great shape, but it still needed a little love. i cleaned it with soap and water, let it dry, and then put a coat of mod podge on it to help preserve the original paper from the wear and tear that is my children. i also glue some seam binding around the inside lining that was showing a little deterioration after the cleaning. 

isn't it cute? 

there was one more thing at the sale that i considered. it was a great price and would be 25% off, but i walked away. i asked my mom if she thought it was a good deal (yes), i asked josh if he was okay with it (sure) and then i could not stop thinking about it. the next day after church and lunch, spencer and i headed back out to the sale. it was still there and 50% off and mine! 

oh, be still my heart! my dad estimates it is from the 1940s and the condition is almost perfect! i worked on it all last week and, due to the extreme heat here this week, my dad generously offered to paint her in the wee hours of the morning before the sun turns everything to ash. i should have a reveal in the near future!

captain & mrs. fantastic

do you remember my rambling blog post about a sweet bride of josh's who referred to her fiance with a moniker only suited for a super hero?? well, after months of reading her blog, following along with her crafting ideas and discussing details of the photographic documentation of their day, it finally arrived. 

last saturday, i joined my extremely talented husband in documenting this preppy, southern wedding that included such classic details as monograms and silhouettes. it was really cool to see how lauren had tied all her ideas together. if you would like to see for yourself, you can go here. and, the photo booth is here.

and one more thing, as long as i am gratuitously plugging my husband, his website recently received an amazing make over. go check it out!

but be prepared, all of these links contain a.mazing eye candy!

if you want it, you got it

a few weeks ago when i posed the question of what you might want to read more about from my point of view, i think all of you chose what is now being referred to as thrifty thursday. but, before we start with the digging  and decorating, i thought you might want to know a little more of why i enjoy estate saling:

1. i was born into it. my parents both grew up in families that had a few treasured valuables. for example, my brother is now the rightful heir to a secretary that has been in my mother's family for generations. i have a lawyers bookcase that was in the office of a family member who worked for a bank when the great depression occurred. although these possessions are worth little monetary value, i was taught early on that their sentimental value made them far more meaningful.

2. i was a tag along. probably since i had enough attitude to roll my eyes and express my sassy opinion, my parents have collected and sold antiques or vintage items. on family trips, i would get drug through every antique store/junk place/roadside flea market along our route. what at first was a break from the long car ride, eventually became something of interest. it only took a few years and hundreds of stores before i started to help them in their search. and around the time i became an adult, i started to find things i liked for myself.

3. these things have a story to tell. i am a sucker for a story. i love to read (mostly blogs at this time due to the time restraints of my 14 children-you can always check a few blogs while you feed the baby, right?). like the lawyers bookcase, it belonged to the man at the bank, remember? the story goes that instead of taking the money and securing a better situation for his family during the uneasy times, he divvied it out to his customers as it was their money they had trusted to the bank. (isn't that right, mom?) but it doesn't matter if i know the actual story or not. i once purchased several antique greeting cards all signed by jim, judy or jim & judy. as i sat making my selections, it was easy to find the time line in jim & judy's life. and, it was also easy to imagine jim's adjustment at when he became a big brother or judy carefully tearing open her birthday gift after reading the card from aunt eunice. (because in the 1950s they actually read the card first, right?) 

4. because someone should care. i have been to more sales that included family pictures, baby homecoming outfits, love letters, family bibles, wedding dresses, and more. each time, i am somewhat saddened that no one cared to treasure these things. these same things that their mother or sister or grandmother found joy in. these same things that flooded back memories of baby's first steps or sweet days of courting are just shoved in a box with junk. it breaks my heart and i know it would break the heart of the person who treasured it. so, if i find joy in someone else's greeting card or sewing box or baby toy, i feel as if i am carrying on their memory and i hope it would make them happy to know that it is appreciated even if not by their own family.

so, what it comes down to is this: i like certain old stuff, i like the thrill of looking for things i like or might like or someone else might like, i usually like the price, i like the idea of repurposing or upcycling, and i like that things have a story. if you like any of these things too, then you might like thrifty thursday. if not, i'm sorry, but you probably won't want to read on thursday;)

because

because it is never about you . . .
because it is always for your family . . .
or your friends . . .
or your brides (and grooms) . . .
because they love you . . .
because you make them laugh . . . and smile . . . and squeal . . .
because you deserve to have that captured. we love you! happy father's day!

he said

when i was looking through pictures on the computer recently, i found a few things i never posted. i will be posting them randomly. this picture was taken one morning before preschool. i usually open the door to the car and let the kids crawl in and buckle their straps while i load the car. on this particular morning, as i headed out the door for the last time, i found miller sitting at the bottom of the steps. 

me: why are you not in your seat?

miller: i'm frustrating.

me: (thinking why yes you are?) you mean frustrated.

miller: yeah.

me: why?

miller: because i can't open the door.

he meant the door on his side. i usually just open the one on spencer's side. now i open both.

feathered friends or foes?

almost two weeks ago, we woke up on friday morning and immediately knew that the day contained all the elements for a perfect zoo day. so, we called the grandparents and met up for a beautiful, cool day at the zoo in june. (these have since been replaced with hot, sweltering never leave air conditioning days in june. thanks, mother nature.) i packed the camera because i knew the kids would get to do something i would never, EVER take them to do:

this is the summer exhibit for 2009. birds and bees. when we told them about it, carter immediately asked, "why would i want to stand in there with bees?" good question, kid. mommy wonders the same thing about birds. 
this is quite possibly my biggest nightmare: a confined space full of people and birds. birds. did you hear me say BIRDS? yuck!
this is as close to this exhibit as i will get. yes, even for my kids. because when those birds aren't being coerced onto a stick, they all get together and fly in swarming circles! oh.my.gosh. i think my heart is palpitating just writing this. 
oh, i am better. cute baby pictures make me better. after all the bird hullabaloo, we made our way to sno cones and diaper changes.
and took another self portrait in the sling.
tagging along with the grandparents means you get sno cones, penny souvenirs and a ride on the pretty carousel because we know they are all made of money.
and, they will push your exhausted children to the car when all they are doing is whining and complaining. the children that is, not the grandparents. 
thanks, meme & papaw! we had a so much fun and great naps, too!