LOL

My sweet, long-time friend Leslie, posted this hilarious article on her blog today. I had to copy it and share because it made me laugh out loud (click to enlarge). Is this not so true??!!

Happy weekend everyone!

Picture Perfect

So I held back from posting this picture with the other apple picking photos…not sure why, right?

I mean, in hindsight, this really is my life. Yes, we have lots of happy moments. Yes, we laugh A LOT. But I feel like this picture perfectly describes our life with two 2 year olds. Emma Kate screaming, Jackson rolling his eyes, and what you can’t see in the picture is me, trying frantically to get the perfect Christmas card picture…you know, look like I have it all together. HA!

I am totally tempted to send this out as our picture this year…maybe with just the words JOY and PEACE at the bottom. What do you think?

A Picking We Will Go

With the leaves changing and gorgeous fall days to embrace, we decided to take the kids apple picking. We actually did this last year with the babes (which you can read about here). Boy, have times changed in one short year! Last year they had just started walking and didn’t quite get it. This year, they were running and couldn’t get enough of the apples! Emma Kate loved to collect them in her bag and Jackson thought they there perfect for playing catch J

Here are a few highlights from our time together:

Great depiction- Jackson ready to throw and Emma Kate looking to fill her bag...

Our new friend

Sweet boy

Picking out a pumpkin

And taking it for a ride...

"One, Two, Three..."

I mean y'all, is Virginia not gorgeous?

Such a good sharer

could not get enough!

Losing My Voice...

Last week was rough...I came down with a terrible cold and ended up completely losing my voice. As you can imagine this made interacting, disciplining, and really even enjoying the twins quite difficult. But the Lord is good and sweet. He taught me such valuable lessons during these challenging few days--to simply rely on him for strength, to ask for help when needed, to prioritize and let some things go.

And then on a more practical level, it was pretty neat to see the babes (can I still call them that?) respond to my lack of a voice. I had to get right on their level and whisper to give them a direction. At first they didn't know quite what to do with that but the quickly adapted and I noticed that the tone in our home totally changed. Rather than everyone yelling to speak over one another (including me...yikes!), we were all whispering or using quieter voices to get across our message. What a great lesson in how the Lord speaks to us...and even disciplines us!

Hoping to keep this "tone" up in our home even though my voice has returned.

Had to add a quick, cute video of the babes dancing. A few disclaimers...

1. Yes, we do usually wear clothes (I know pics from last week also included us in diapers)

2. Yes, we do often eat off the floor, I am ok with that :)

3. Yes, we are working on being gentle with Savannah

Says it All...

Is this bad?

So sorry if you don't drink Diet Coke, don't believe in it, or think it is against God's will for your life. Right now, this is what get's me through each and every day...and I am totally ok with that :)

Happy Weekend everyone!

Decorating for Fall- Yes or No?

So last year I was still in survival mode…or at least I kept telling myself that. The twins had just turned one and I felt like I was just barely out of the deep waters and starting to really get in our groove. I definitely didn’t put out any “fall” or harvest decorations and my Christmas décor included some poinsettias (maybe not even a tree??!! Can’t even remember!). Anyways, this year I am back to normal…or my new normal J

This past weekend, we went to dinner at a friend’s house who had decorated a little for fall but did in a very classic way- very much my style (hi Meredith, if you’re reading). That got me inspired and I picked up a few items to make our house a little more harvest-ready J

The kiddos love our new pumpkin outside. Hoping to carve it before Halloween!

I found this cool "fairy tale" pumpkin at Trader Joes- makes a perfect centerpiece!

I thought these mini pumpkins were cute and added a great touch to the end of my mantle

What about you? Do you go all out or skip Fall decorating all together?

Rainy days

Several months ago, I had sent a desperate plea on facebook to other stay at home mommas asking for ideas/advice when it was rainy and cold outside- what to do with our kiddos? Many of you responded and had super creative thoughts and ideas, many of which I have filed away. Recently, it has been super rainy here in Virginia and I have needed to pull some of those ideas out of the “file.” My dear friend Emily mentioned to me that she bought butcher block paper and rolled it across the floor, pulled out crayons (or other art supplies) and let the kids have at it- brilliant! Last year, we were still eating art supplies (awesome…) so I decided to give it a try this rainy weekend. The twins loved it!! And have since asked to “color, color” every morning when we wake up.

What do you do on a rainy day with your kiddos? Still filing away ideas as we get closer and closer to winter J

Getting started

Showing each other their work- so cute!

Our finished product!