fun with photoshop ♥

i'm giddy over my new toy- photoshop elements. see what i've been doing on maternity leave while my babies sleep, rather than cleaning and organizing closets?







love love love it! so many possibilities. i've already created crosby's birth announcement and baptism invitation, and am working on some other invitations as well. fun fun! ♥

oh yeah, explanations of these photographs to come...

obsessed

oh, yes, you can say i'm obsessed with coffee, and this creamer that goes so perfectly with it.

drinking coffee during pregnancy gave me heartburn (and not the best idea to drink all that caffeine- although a cup every now and then didn't hurt), so now i'm making up for lost time. except that my favorite creamer is very hard to find. so, when i find it, i stock up. i'll admit it. i have a problem. so sue me. just don't take away my amaretto creamer.

do you have an obsession? care to leave a comment so i don't feel like the only one out there with a glutton for coffee creamer?

balancing

call me crazy (some of my friends have), but we haven't been sitting in the house many days of my maternity leave. i strive for balance, blame it again on my libra nature. there are days when i just want to laze around the house, and then there are days i am itching to get out and do something. i guess this results from not wanting harper to miss out on anything, especially with a new little one in the house who has stolen some of her attention.

but because of the days we laze around and the days we are out adventuring, our house is most often in a state of pure disruption.

laundry goes unfolded for days. dishes don't get put away. toys are strewn all over the house in every spot where there's an inch of openness. the book i'm trying to browse through is in a new spot every time i pick it up only to put it down 2 read words later. there are 5 infant contraptions, all that basically do the same thing, taking up precious floor space and causing too-many-to-count stubbed toes.

(and i honestly did not stage a single item in these photos.)

go see this movie. went with some girlfriends, mainly for some robert pattinson viewing, and wound up with tears and emotions and awe. excellent. it was as good as the book, in my opinion.

but at least i have help.

she even likes to help me while i "work."

this photo totally reminds me of the grudge.

we may occasionally reside among mountains of toys and dust and clutter, until i just can't stand it anymore and embark on a cleaning spree, but at least there is happiness in our home.

so, back to the balance. 2 weeks ago, after a doctor appointment, we ventured to the movie theatre for rio. we were running a few minutes late from picking up a few things at the store, crosby had just started waking up, crying and ready to eat, and i was nervous that we were going to disrupt the patrons already in the theatre. ignoring the please do not bring in outside food sign on the door (we paid $14 for an almost-three-year-old and me to watch a movie, seriously?! i am not also paying for your $6 tub of popcorn and $3 box of candy, thank you very much. i will sneakily hide my whole foods pizza slice and bag of kettle corn under my nursing coverup in my diaper bag), we rushed into the theatre to realize we were the only people there. a huge stadium seating theatre and just the 3 of us to enjoy our own screening. it was great. harper noshed on her treats, i nursed in the dark and little one slept the entire time, lulled by the louder-than-it-really-should-be calypso music and dialogue. we had a great time, until i realized that we missed the window of nap time entirely, and with music class that afternoon and michael being gone for class, i was in for a rough evening. i did manage to get her to bed reasonably early, but that meant she was up several hours in the middle of the night. so was her sister, and thus, so were michael and i. and that meant my planned adventure of taking both kids for a full on grocery store trip the next morning had to be cancelled. i saved it for another day. balance.

we learn to balance family and friends.

we balance times of movement with moments of needed rest, which is how it goes for our maximus right now. after slipping and sliding too many times on our new bamboo flooring in the kitchen, he completely ruptured his acl requiring surgery and 2 weeks of lazing around. plus 12 more weeks til full recovery. try telling that to the dog who chases after squirrels and runs circles in the backyard. this isn't an easy feat, and i've quickly realized we have just acquired another infant.

we balance cool weather days with days of heat and sun, calling for impromptu sprinkler runs.

this was all her idea, coming from the girl who wanted nothing to do with sprinklers last summer.

clean, dry play is balanced with dirty hands and knees, truly a sign of spring.

and in every sun, a little rain must fall. but that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy it all the same.

learning to balance takes effort. a lot of it some days. but our two littles make it all the more worthwhile.

right now

participating in the willette right now challenge this morning by taking the time to snap an unposed photo of what we're doing right now (and for a chance to win a lifetime membership to clickin' moms- love clickin' moms!)

here is harper, at our local farmer's market, avoiding the sporadic rain sprinkles.

on being green and crafty

last friday night, i joined with some of my mom's group girlfriends for a crafting night. maria suggested an idea from one of our fave blogs- a summer to-do list. i loved this idea because with my summers off from school, and now 2 little girls, i can simply look at my list and choose a fun thing to do when it seems the hot days of summer are frying my brain and my lack of spontaneity has dwindled. it will also encourage us to do things together as a family, which i feel is so key in raising strong, confident and stay-out-of-trouble kids.

i love this mom's group. 10 girls with 22 kids (plus 2 more on the way) between us. we share recipes, greening and health and nutrition ideas, crafts, photography, scrapbooking, laughter, tears, support. it's so much more than a mom's night out. it's my saving grace some days.

crosby joined in the fun, and was so enthralled with all the chit-chat and snacks that she was awake the entire time, minus a 10 minute cat nap here and there when someone was holding her.

on sunday, after my mother's day breakfast, we ventured into plymouth for the green street fair. it was a beautiful day and the fair was full of lots of exciting projects and booths to turn your home more green.

guess who had to join us?

the fountain even participated in the event- it was dyed green! i gave harper pennies to throw into the fountain and make wishes. she just liked to throw them. all 12.

and there was music, which of course meant dancing. girl is not afraid to shake her booty.

i am loving our new double stroller. i think crosby liked it, too.

finally we are starting to get warmer weather and sunshine around these parts.

we've been able to enjoy lots of outside time, which makes us all sleep so much better at night.

the flowers are blooming.

the bikes are on the driveway.

the sandbox is open.

the bubbles and chalk are out, of course. those are summertime staples.

i am loving it and looking forward to more warm weather days of summer...and checking off the to-do's on my summer list, including planting our garden again this year. going to purchase our seeds soon.

can you tell we're excited?!

along with going green and crafty is my mother's day present...

a blender, you say? no, not just any blender. a fabulous vitamix! you could blend shoes and socks in this thing. we're starting to experiment, but have found a favorite smoothie - you have to try this. it has become a staple in our house a few times a week, and one of the ways i can sneak in harper's probiotic and fish oil, thanks to suggestions from my mom friends.

so there you have it, recent events on being green and crafty. and we're still going. i'm working on some digital scrapbooks for the girls, and also on making my own birth announcements with photoshop. lots of self-learning and time in front of the computer, but at least i have a lovely window view of the flowering trees and blooms. and that's a happy thing.