Dear Baby

A sweet moment while Brent opened his gifts on Sunday morning.

Taking the new tie and sunglasses for a test drive.

Two of the best dads in the world - my own and my husband. We celebrated them with a cookout at my grandparent’s house in the country.

A happy little boy after discovering an old tractor toy in my Papa’s barn.

Opening cards and gifts with my Papa. I am so thankful my children get to know the man who made my own childhood so magical.

An impromptu concert under the gazebo while the children danced in the grass.

Brent, proving that Carhartt overalls are the perfect dad uniform.

Love,

M

Brent,

The way in which you have committed to the dream of our family leaves me breathless. I am struggling for words as I sit here trying to capture the gratitude that fills my heart. There are a million different ways in which a man can provide for his family, but I can not imagine how our life would have been, had you not so proudly taken the path that you have. Thank you for being my greatest champion and my safe place to land. Thank you for not just caring for our children, but  for filling the days of their childhood with wildly imaginative adventures and for passionately nurturing their discovery of the beauty in this world. What you do everyday, for all of us, is immeasurable.

Our life is joyful and you are the source.

Happy Father’s Day!

We love you,

Melissa and Everly and Arlo.

I haven’t done one of these in six months, so I’m over due in making some semi-crafty stuff! Since part of Brent’s Mother’s Day gift to me included painting our front door bright red, I thought the kids and I would return the favor and paint him something too. Today, ladies and gentleman, we’re making these:

We love homemade gifts in our family and I thought a funky tie painted by the kiddos would make a sweet, memorable gift that was equal parts traditional and quirky. Brent wears both regular and bow ties, so we made him one of each.

This project cost me a total of $40 to make both the standard tie and the bow tie. Any future fabric painted projects will be less expensive as I now have plenty of fabric dye paint left over. Here’s what you need:

• White or light colored, solid ties. I ordered mine of Amazon here and here. I’ve also seen them locally at TJ Maxx and really any department store men’s section.
• I really like Dye-Flow fabric dye paints. I bought the sample kit with a rainbow of colors at my local art store for $10, but found it online here for a few bucks more.
• A fabric paint pen in black. I used this one.
• Masking tape. I found tape in varying widths at my local art supply store

Step One: Tape off your design. I didn’t really know how this would turn out when I started doing it, but I wanted to add some sort of graphic element to the the tie. If you wanted to skip the step, you certainly could and would just have a solid watercolor effect.  These are not very good photos, but you can see here that I just taped off line designs on both ties. Get creative!

(I wasn’t finished tapping off this design when I took the photo of the bow tie)

Step Two: Time to paint! We used our art easel to clip the ties up but a piece of cardboard on the ground would work well too. I wasn’t sure if the dye paint would permanently stain the children’s hands, so I insisted on gloves at first. I tested a little spot on my own hand, let it dry, then washed it with soap and water and it came right off, so we discarded the gloves halfway through. 

We used an empty plastic egg crate to hold our paint colors and decided to do one tie in warm colors and the other in cool colors. Everly insisted that both ties should have some pink (but of course!)

Step Three: Let the ties dry for about 15 minutes. Because the paint is a similar consistency to watercolors, it dries quickly. Next take your black fabric marker and trace the sides of the masking tape to make your graphic design stand out. (Note: You could skip this step if you wanted. I found the the color still bled under the edges of the tape, but it still made some nice white areas)

Step Four: Peel off the masking tape and heat set the ties. The directions on the package recommended putting a piece of paper between the fabric and the iron, so I just used a piece of grocery bag. Heat through for about 3 minutes with no steam.

The finished results:

I also used the craft paper that we painted the ties on as homemade wrapping paper. It was a nice touch that tied (TIED! get it!) the whole thing together.

The entire project took us 45 minutes start to finish. Now that we’ve got this under our belt, I’m already thinking of other fabric pieces we could paint - pillow cases, t-shirts, even fabric hair bows.

This gift for Brent was originally supposed to be a surprise, but Everly announced to him as soon as we were finished that he “better not come outside or he might see the ties we painted for him.” Oh well! We’re all still really excited for him to open these this Sunday for Father’s Day!

Love,

M

Check out previous semi-crafty posts here.

We found ourselves with a sweet spot in a recent summer storm. Most storms during the warm months in North Carolina are accompanied by thunder and lighting that aren’t safe for puddle stomping and rain dancing. Last Friday, as the first tropical weather of the season rolled through Raleigh, the kids began to go stir crazy from being cooped up indoors.

I stood on the front porch watching the rain fall. The air was warm and the falling rain was light. Across the street, the ditches that run the length of our neighborhood park were ankle deep with water. I called the kids outside to join me and we pulled on our rain boots.

They held hands as we crossed the street, still a little unsure of what we were going to do.  I walked them to the edge of the pooled water and smiled at them. They both turned loose, splashing water in every direction. Legs kicking, arms flailing, the sound of laughter bouncing between the trees. I love that the language of childhood requires no direction.

At one point, I found Everly with her head back, attempting to catch rain drops on her tongue. Arlo sloshed over to me a time or two and I helped empty the water from his boots before he ran back to joyfully fill them again. They collected fallen magnolia leaves and set them to sail like little boats in the moving water.

They jumped and splashed until they were well soaked. Eventually, Brent met us at the door with towels as we dropped their drenched clothing into a pile on the porch.

I’m usually not the biggest fan of wet weather. I much prefer sunshine and dry ground. But everything in my life takes on new meaning when translated through the experiences of my children.  How precious the days, when even a slow, steady rain becomes a playground.

Love,

M

The children’s rainboots are c/o Joules .   Everly’s are here. Arlo’s are here. I’m a big fan of their bright, colorful selection of girl’s rain boots .

My father in law kept Arlo on his own two weekends ago. When we picked our son up, it struck me immediately that something was different. Not drastically so, but something was different about his hair. I was almost certain it had been trimmed, but all of his sweet baby curls were still there. I kept running my hands through the back of his hair while we visited, convinced that I was imagining things… it just didn’t seem possible that Allen would have cut his hair. Finally, I said something, feeling a tad bit guilty that I was even insinuating such a crazy idea and that’s when Allen admitted to giving him a little trim. “Just the wispiest ones on the ends,” he said to me.  I have been building up the courage for months to give Arlo the tiniest snip of a trim. I knew he needed it, but I just wasn’t ready to put scissors to those sweet curls yet. And here, my father in law was, giving him a haircut HIMSELF without asking first. I honestly was speechless! I stewed on it for a good week and found that I was having a hard time being mad at him about it. I felt like I wanted to be - especially because he did it without asking - but the reality was that it actually looked really good, and Arlo did need it done and I was just dragging my feet about it.  To top of it off, my father in law is just a wonderful grandfather who goes out of his way for us all the time. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get steamed at him about it. I did tell him last week that he is never allowed to give him another haircut without asking us first - but that he should also expect the next time Arlo needs a trim, I’m coming to him to do it!

Everly is suddenly becoming all legs and arms. It’s hard to believe sometimes that she was once known for having the fattest little baby legs and feet. Watching her morph into a little girl is fascinating and bittersweet.  I once bought a pair of shoes when she was 6 months old from an online shop. It wasn’t until they arrived that I realized the sizing was way off and they were far too big. Unable to return them, I remember holding them up and thinking they looked huge and it would be forever until they fit her. I tucked them away in a drawer and recently she tried them on again. It seized my heart for a moment, as she strapped them on, because it hadn’t taken long at all for her to grow into them. They were in my hand, huge, just a moment ago and now they fit her like a glove. Growing in to, growing out of…. in a flash. Sometimes I feel like we’ve entered an alternate universe where everything moves so much faster than it once did.

Arlo’s speech therapy is helping him making leaps and bounds on his verbal communication. He is now using two and three word descriptors and has learned possessives like “My truck!”  He still has a lot of words that only we can understand but he is really beginning to enjoy talking and sharing what is on his mind. He can name every single part of a car including the gas tank, steering wheel and bumper, but my favorite new words he says are rainbow and butterfly.

I love watching Everly and Arlo perform little shows. The hope chest in our bedroom makes a perfect stage. My brother Wayne and I used to put shows on all the time for our parents when we were little and it’s so cool to see my kids doing it too.  Everly sings made up songs, Arlo hums along, and they both do hand motions. Best ticket in town.

Arlo went through a stage from about 18 months on when he just wanted his daddy. Everly went through it too, around the same time. At that age, both of my children formed a very close connection with their father. He is the one who is home during the day, providing them with comfort, care and security. Sometimes I’ve felt like I was always trying to play catch up when I came home in the evenings. I suspect that a lot of working fathers feel this same way to some degree, but there is something about being a mother, I think, that made it really sting.  I wanted them to seek me, but naturally they sought the one who most often was there for them. It felt particularly rough with Arlo because this change started right around the time that I stopped nursing him.  I had been so used to having that close bonding time with him, and then suddenly he wanted none of it. For the past six months, he has insisted that daddy get him out of his carseat. Daddy put him to bed. Daddy comfort him when he woke up from a bad dream. I’d get little moments of snuggle time with him, but mainly it was daddy, daddy, daddy. Like clockwork, at the age of two, he’s decided to share his attention again. Mommy snuggles for days. We are back to slow, quiet rocking at bed time, his little head resting against my collarbone. He calls out for me in the middle of the night. He reaches up for me to carry him on my hip again. It felt like a long wait with each of my children, but I always tried to remind myself that it was just a stage. The other day, Arlo was tired and cranky and needing a nap. He struggled out of Brent’s arms, leaned towards me and called, “Mommy mommy!”. A smile escaped. “You love that, don’t you?” Brent asked. “More than you know,” I said back.

This is Everly dressing up like a “movie star”. I love stumbling upon her in the middle of her creative play. She is constantly coming up with little scenarios and acting them out. Right after I snapped this, she put her hand on her hip, cocked her head to the side and let out an exasperated sigh. Then she told me she was frustrated because she was waiting for someone to pick her up and take her to her movie and they were making her late.

Love,

M

(First Photo: Everly at 4 months with Bailey. Second Photo: Arlo at 10 months with Gibson. Third Photo: Ellie Belle giving the dogs a disappointed look after they were banished outdoors last night)

I walked in the door with two tired kids last night to discover that the dogs had knocked over the trash can and drug its contents across the kitchen and into the dining room. It was the second time in two weeks that it had happened.  Brent was away at a meeting with a few guys from church and I was already an hour behind schedule on getting the kids bathed and in bed.

Anger began to bubble up in me as I turned around to face the two guilty looking dogs at my feet. “DOGS!” I yelled “OUTSIDE!” and flung open our front door. I was furious.

There have been many times on this journey of parenthood when our home has suddenly felt too full for our pets. It wasn’t immediately noticeable when Everly was born although we did find ourselves struggling to fit in their daily walks and exercise time. I hated how they shed hair everywhere and my baby would pick it up on her hands as she crawled around, no matter how much I vaccumed.

When Arlo was born, we were living in a small, crowded bungalow. Two bedrooms and about 900 square feet for four people, two dogs and a cat. Arlo would cry for hours and I would stand there in the middle of the living room rocking him back and forth until my arms ached and it felt like the minute he finally drifted off to sleep our dog Gibson would startle him awake with a loud bark out of nowhere.  They were constantly under our feet and several times I almost tripped with a baby in my arms. We were constantly telling (or more honestly, yelling) at them to get down, be quiet, move.

I was beginning to resent our dogs. I would threaten to find them new homes all of the time in front of family and friends, often in a joking manner, but halfway wishing that someone would earnestly take me up on it. 

The barking became so unbearable when Arlo was an infant that in order to find peace in our home, we bought the dogs collars that would emit a small shock when they barked. I remembered feeling so ashamed as we put them around the dogs necks. I always swore I would never do that to my dogs, but here I was desperate for them to be quiet. We didn’t have time or money for obedience training, and they felt like a last resort.

The collars worked and the frustration and anger that had been growing towards our dogs subsided. Eventually we only had to pull the collars out for the dogs to see and they would stop barking.

As our children grew, our dogs learned to adapt to the changes in our household. They grew fat as they hovered under the high chair, picking up any dropped remnants of dinner. They curled up next to the kids on the sofa for snuggle time in the afternoons.

One of the hardest lessons in maturity for me has been learning to look at an experience from outside of my own personal view. It is only natural to form thoughts and opinions based on how we are effected as individuals, but I’ve sometimes found it hard to really sit with the reality of how the view of an experience changes when I look at it through the eyes of someone else.

When I look at this journey we’ve made from my dog’s point of view, my eyes well with tears and the guilt bears down on me. Bailey came into Brent’s life when he was twenty years old. The same goes for me and my cat, Ellie. We adopted Gibson from a rescue just a month before our wedding when we were 26 years old. We were young, inexperienced in life, and pet ownership was the pinnacle of our responsibilities. We brought them into our world long before we were ever thinking about having children.

And our pets were our children for many years.  They were the focus of our affections and our companions on many adventures. But the years passed, babies came along and our attention changed focused. Their role in our family changed drastically. The number of walks and treats and loving attention lessened. Our expectations on their behavior grew. Our patience shortened. I can only imagine how confusing the shift has been for them.

But they have never waivered in their love for us. Their loyalty. They have adapted to our growing family.  There are still a lot of hard moments, like last night when the idea of cleaning up such a mess felt like too much. Picking up the toys and the constant trail that follows after two preschoolers often feels relentless and so dog vomit on the rug or having to bath a dog that rolled in something smelly in the yard often feels like the final straw. I take a lot of deep breaths, sometimes shed a tear or two and try my hardest to look at all of this - this crazy life we have - from their point of view. They didn’t ask for these changes. They mess up sometimes, just like we have, but they have done their best to adjust.

After I cooled off, cleaned up the mess, and bathed the kids, we opened the front door and let the dogs back inside.  It was a perfect opportunity to teach Everly and Arlo an important lesson.  We are all going to make bad decisions, make a mess, leave each other disappointed - but it’s in what we do next that matters.

It still feels overwhelming at times. Maybe it always will. We have a lot of mouths to feed and baths to give and check ups and medicines to stay on top of. But I’m trying to take a page out of my dog’s book when it comes to demonstrating loyalty.

Everly and Arlo hugged the dogs necks last night. We told them we loved them and always will, even when they mess up, even when it feels hard to do so. Goodness knows that these sweet mutts of ours have always shown us the same grace.

Love,

M

P.S. I have to assume that many of you have also struggled with this. Does it get easier as your children grow? I hope so.

Here’s what I wore to work and to play in May.

Play Clothes.

I wore this to church and it felt light and feminine. I have a little story about these shoes. A sweet online friend sent me an email one day and asked if I might be interested in a pair of beautiful shoes she had sitting in her closet. She had loved them, and bought them on a whim, but they had sat in her closet for some time with very little wear. She thought they looked like my style and wondered if I might be interested in them. They are a creamy, light, yellow color which can be a little challenging to pair up, but man oh man are they stunning shoes. I have made an effort to wear them regularly and build outfits around them to do justice to the generous gift she sent my way. Every time I wear them, I think about Justine and try to show these pretty shoes a little adventure in her honor!

Blouse: Target

Skirt: Down East Basics

Shoes: Minna Parikka

Work Clothes.

I’ve fallen in love with these little turquoise kitten heels from Seychelles. Despite their vibrant color, I’ve taken to wear them like a neutral. I’ve worn them with a coral dress, a yellow skirt (pictured here) and plenty of other outfits that include color or bold prints. They’re unexpected and fun… and the short heel height makes them great for chasing the kids or walking to a lunch meeting downtown. 

Top: Everly (nice brand name, eh?)

Necklace: c/o Minx Boutique

Skirt: Asos.com

Heels: c/o Minx Boutique

Work Clothes AND Play Clothes

I had to go in the office this day, but this was a special one because it was also Everly’s Mothers Day tea party at school. She picked out my shoes and I chose the top and skirt to go with it. This outfit is a little playful and quirky, and I felt great in it.

Blouse: Stitch Fix

Skirt: Asos.com

Shoes: c/o Minx Boutique

Bracelets: Francesca’s Collections

Everly wears:

Dress: c/o

Petticoat: Zulily

Shoes: Target

Hair bow: Target

Play Clothes

Hellooooo weekend! The only real chance I get to wear shorts is on the weekend, so I take full advantage. This was a day for running errands and a family cookout, so I need something comfortable and put together.

Hat: a handme down from my mother in law

Blouse: Bella Dahl (via Stitch Fix)

Shorts: c/o Minx Boutique

Shoes: DSW.com

Everly wears:

Dress: Target

Sandals: Saltwater

Work Clothes.

I think this is my favorite outfit of the bunch. This mint color is one of my favorites to wear because I think it compliments my pale skin. I’m also happy to report that I FINALLY got my hair done a few days after this photo was taken - it looks like I was trying to go for the ombre look the old fashion way with that root grow out - yikes!!

Blouse: Collective Concepts (via Stitch Fix)

Skirt: Tobi.com

Belt: Vintage

Shoes: Steven

Arlo wears:

Shirt: NextDirect.com

Pants: Carters

Always his best accessory: Those killer strawberry blonde curls!

I always have fun with these posts and it’s fun to pick out a few of my favorite outfits from the month to feature on the blog. One day I’ll have to do a post of all of the outfit that have never made the cut- there are some REALLY bad ones in the mix! That post should be titled “What Was I Thinking When I Wore This to Work or To Play?”  I definitely have my share of fashion missteps - but the older I get, the more I feel like I’m beginning to hone in on my specific style. One thing is for sure, I sure do love a pretty skirt and a fun pair of shoes.

Love,

M

We spent last weekend celebrating the weddings of two very dear couples in our lives. The first, Sarah and Mike, were married last Friday at the charming Fearrington Inn in Pittsboro, NC. Our friends, Megahn and Vini, were married in Charlotte on Saturday under a big, beautiful tree outside the church that Meg grew up in. What made these weddings even more special for us was that Everly had the honor of being a flower girl in both.

Being part of the wedding party can be a bit hectic even for adults, so I was a little nervous of how our three year old would fair doing it on back to back days. We focused on making sure she had plenty of rest and tried to keep our downtime in between as relaxed and mellow as possible. Arlo went to stay with his grandparents over the weekend, as we knew he’d enjoy the one on one time with them instead of the busy travel schedule we had planned.

Sarah and Mike have been friends of ours for years. They live only a few miles away and they never miss a birthday party or get together with our family. Sarah is the sort of friend who will show up at bedtime on a Wednesday night to help put the kids down and then will sit on my couch for a good, long chat and a glass of wine. My children adore her as much as I do.  Everly was one of three flower girls in their ceremony. Her best friend, Mylah, was another one, along with a cute little girl who was a member of their family. Everly was excited to take on such a special role next to Mylah.  The girls did a great job, dropping rose pedals down the aisle before Sarah walked and sitting together and giggling on the front row.

Everly spent the entire evening running around in circles, dancing with her friends and sitting in Sarah’s lap during toasts. We left the reception a little early to ensure she got a good night’s sleep, but she was so excited about the fun she had that night that it took forever to get her to finally wind down in our hotel room.

I had promised Everly that if she did a good job in both weddings, she would have a special treat waiting for her at the end. She requested a pair of blue, sparkly shoes. I checked a few stores I thought might have them in the rush before we left for the weddings, but I didn’t have any luck. On the way to Charlotte on Saturday morning, we passed an outlet mall on the side of the highway and decided to give it a try. We checked a couple of kids stores before finally stopping in the Sketchers store. They didn’t have any blue shoes, but the minute Everly laid her eyes on a pair of “twinkle toes” blingy/glitter covered sneakers, it was all over. She had to have them.

Oh they made me cringe! But I watched her joyfully stomp around the store, making the little flashing rhinestones light up and before I knew it, I was buying them.

Megahn and Vini went on their first date when I was 38 weeks pregnant.  I remember her calling me the next day and just gushing about how wonderful the date had been. I got to meet Vini the next night at Megahn’s New Year’s Eve birthday party and few days later, they were the first of our friends to hold our brand new daughter.  When Megahn asked if Everly would be their flower girl, I was so touched. She explained that Everly was special to them because she was the same age as their relationship. A living embodiment of the time they had been in love.

I was honestly a little more nervous about how Everly would do as part of their wedding party. There were not as many familiar faces at Meg’s wedding and Everly would have to walk down the aisle alone. Everly was excited to hold her very own mini bouquet, just like Megahn’s, but with just a few minutes left before she was set to walk, she began to get cold feet. Her eyes teared up and she told me she wanted me to walk down the aisle with her. She clung tightly to my legs and I watched her lip quiver. I knelt down next to her and reminded her of what a special role she got to play and told her that we would be right there on the front row waiting for her. I pulled out the blingy sneakers from my handbag. “Eyes on the prize, baby!” I said cheerfully. “One quick walk down a grass path, and mama will be waiting for you with your special shoes for doing a good job.”

Her smile returned and when it was her turn to walk, I squeezed her hand and said “You go that way and mommy will go this way and I’ll meet you at the front, ok?”  She nodded and walk down the center aisle perfectly. I thought for sure that she would want to come and sit with me when she made it to the front, but instead, she insisted on standing up next to the bridesmaids for the ceremony.

As soon as it was over, we met the wedding party inside and Everly was already asking for her new shoes. She proceeded to jump around for the next five minutes to show off how they lit up. She kept them on for the rest of the night and every time I would lose sight of her while she ran around the dance floor, I’d just look for the rainbow of flashing lights illuminating the full, white skirt of her dress.

We were also reunited with our friends, Mariana and Ajit, who we have not seen since our move from San Francisco. They live in Fresno now, but we had so much fun reminscing on our adventures together in the city. Spending an evening with them just reminded me of how much I miss them. When Everly was a baby, she was smitten with Mariana and we used to jokingly call her Everly’s “smommy”.  The word in her native tongue for “aunt” translates to “small mommy” in English, so we just shortened it.  On Saturday night, Everly was right there again, snuggled against Smommy Mariana, happily listening to her stories.

(Favorite photo from the weekend. Everly and I being ever so ladylike in the country club “powder room”.)

While in Charlotte, our friends Nick and Rebecca were kind enough to let us stay with them. They recently had a baby girl, so we take every opportunity we can get to snuggle on baby Ava. They also offered to put Everly to bed for us on Saturday night so that we could stay until the end of the reception. After dinner, we took Everly to their house and made it back in time to dance the night away and wish the new couple off.

I found myself crying on the ride home from the reception. The tears were a mix of joy for our friends who were starting a new life together, sadness to say goodbye to those who were soon to fly home, and a good amount of champagne.

I was so proud of Everly this weekend and so thankful for the friends in our life. Those who live a few miles away, across the state and those living on the other side of the country. What a weekend!

Love,

M

Me: Arlo, what happened to the side of your face?!?

Everly: a bahsneeto (mosquito) bit him!

We celebrated Arlo’s birthday last weekend with a dinosaur themed party and it was a blast! For months, I’d been squirreling away dinosaur themed party decorations as I came across them. We never know quite how it will all look when we put all the ideas together, so it’s fun to stand back before the guests arrive and take a look at the final result. (And a big thank you to my mom this year for helping!) To save money, I kept the colors similar to his party last year, so that we could reuse as much as possible.

I wanted some sort of dinosaur landscape as a backdrop, so I took a sheet and used colored duct tape to make a linear, palm tree and volcano background. The table skirt was a couple of cheap grass skirts that I picked up at the dollar store and I found a great deal on Meri Meri party supplies on Zulily - so I purchased the big stegasaurus on the table, a few banners, and party bags.  I’ve ordered both of the kids a personalized birthday banner this year that I plan to re-use every year going forward. I really like this chalkboard inspired one from Minted.com.

I’m not much of a baker, but I like making my own cakes for the kid’s parties. For Arlo’s birthday I used a simple boxed chocolate cake and then added fresh strawberries and homemade buttercream. As a topper, I ordered a wooden T-Rex skeleton puzzle off Amazon (full disclosure: it was a pain to put together!) and made a little party hat for it to wear. It was simple - but the results brought lots of smiles!

His party was at 3pm, so we kept the food simple. Mini sandwiches, fruit, veggies and dip, cheese and crackers and munchies like pretzels, chips, goldfish, nuts and dried fruit. I snagged a bunch of Arlo’s toy dinosaurs out of his room to decorate the platters.

The dollar store and the party section of Target our my favorite places to find inexpensive goodie bag toys. Arlo’s friends took home mini tambourines, dinosaur stickers, bubbles, finger skateboards, and a sweet treat.

The forecast was calling for thunderstorms mid afternoon, so we were hesitant to set up much in the yard. Instead, I moved the kid craft table to the porch. We had two activities - little wooden dinosaur cutouts I found at the dollar store that the kids could color with markers and I carved potatoes into dinosaur feet stamps so that the children could put them in washable paint and stamp paper with “dinosaur tracks”.  We blew up a couple of inflatable dinosaurs to welcome our guests and attached balloons. The kids at the party loved playing with them.

A “live” velociraptor made a brief appearance at the party, but I worried about Bailey overheating, so she didn’t wear it long. It was definitely good for a laugh!

The storms held off all afternoon and our yard and home was filled with family and friends.  Having a fenced in front yard makes for a great kid-safe area to play - so we put out tricycles, scooters and yard toys. We also had out Arlo’s new sandbox with lots of digging toys and buried dinosaurs.

Singing happy birthday to our big two year old! Arlo’s personality is a bit more reserved and he is much more shy than his big sister, because of this, he doesn’t always command the spotlight.  It was really sweet to see his face light up as he realized that every part of this day was all about HIM! He was so happy when we all sang happy birthday and blew out his candles on the first try!

A favorite shot from the day - complete with a cake mustache and a new hat he got for his birthday. (Arlo is on his way to having the coolest hat collection ever.)

I’ve talked about this before - but we always encourage our guests to bring a donation instead of a gift to our children’s parties. (Our kids have so much already.) It’s a great way to teach Everly and Arlo about giving to others and help out a great cause. For Arlo’s birthday this year, we chose to collect pet supplies and are dropping it all off with a local rescue group next week.

It was just a wonderful day and the perfect celebration for the sweetest little boy in our lives. Arlo brings so much joy and happiness to our family and we cherish every opportunity we get to celebrate him. I can’t believe another year came and went so fast - before you know it, we’ll be here again, watching him blow out three candles as he runs off his sugar buzz. Until then, we count our lucky stars for every day we get to watch him grow.

We love you Arlo Redding! Hooray for turning two!

Love,

M

I didn’t turn on the news last night and mostly stayed away from social media, so it wasn’t until this morning that I learned of the devastation that occurred in Moore, Oklahoma yesterday afternoon. 

I watched this video this morning on my phone while the children sat at my feet watching cartoons. Quiet tears ran down my face as I watched parents break down in relief as they were reunited with their children. My heart seized for those calling out their children’s names in the chaos - searching for their faces in the battered crowd. In times of tragedy, so often I find it hard to even comprehend what that experience must be like for those going through it. That overwhelming fear. The desperate prayers, hoping that your loved ones are unharmed. I often consume the experiences of others by relating it to what I know - but even attempting to imagine the terror of trying to find my children in that sort of nightmare scenario is more than my mind will allow.

Everly saw me fighting tears and asked me why I was crying. I always struggle with how or if I should talk to my children about tragedies. They are so young and I don’t want to scare them or cause them to worry.  One of the great beauties of childhood is that for most, there is still that naive comfort in not yet understanding or experiencing heartbreak, disaster, or cruelty. So, I chose my words carefully and told her that some people were hurt because of a big storm and I was feeling sad for them.

I don’t know where I am going with this. I just wanted to write something out loud…to join the choir of millions of Americans and those around the world who are heartbroken for the families who lost everything, some including their lives, to this storm. If you would like to do something to help, please consider making a donation to the Red Cross or text the words “red cross” to 90999. If you are not financially able to contribute, please consider making an appointment at your local Red Cross Blood Center to give blood.

Sending all the love and prayers I have today, as far and as wide as they can go.

Love,

M

I really loved the design of the Badger Basket Sandbox  because it features a lid that covers the entire box but plays double duty as it folds up into two bench seats. I looked at a lot of different models, but the functionality and price ($119) for this cedar model was my favorite. We purchased the kit to build our own and sent mama the dimensions and asked her if she could design a way to make it mobile.

She drove down to Raleigh for Arlo’s birthday party and when she showed me what she had made, I was absolutely thrilled. Her design has five wheels and a long tow rope so that we can move it around the yard. She painted the base bright red to give it some color. She put the sandbox kit together and then attached it to the base with L brackets. Before we added the sand, we drilled holes in the platform base, and then added a layer of mesh outdoor gardening fabric so that water could drain through, but the sand would stay put if it rained.

(Mama and her finished sandbox)

The result was a beautiful sandbox that can be wheeled around to shady parts of the yard as the day progresses that won’t destroy the ground cover underneath. It’s heavy with the sand, but it works great!

At Arlo’s dinosaur party on Saturday (a post to come on that tomorrow!) we filled it full of plastic dinosaurs and dino skeletons and it was a huge hit with the kids in attendance as they practiced being little paleontologists. Some of them stayed put for thirty minutes or more as they happily dug!

The only downside is that now I’ve got to learn to come to terms with the layer of sand that I’ve found in the house since it arrived!

My mom can build anything out of wood. Our house is full of tables and shelves and bowls and even cupcake stands that she has made based off a simple photo or idea I sent her way. She’s like my own personal Bob Vila!

I was just so proud of this that I wanted to share it on my blog.

Happy Monday!

Love,

M

(On a trip to Target to pick out a special prize for being well behaved. Arlo had already chosen a toy motorcycle and we were browsing the doll aisle)

Everly: Mama, instead of a toy, can I pick out a new pair of shoes?

Me: Shoes instead of a toy? Are you sure?

Everly: Yes. Sparkly ones. They need to have sparkles.

Me: This is proof we are soul mates.

(While watching a Disney commercial that featured a little boy who was talking about his heritage. He looked into the camera and said, “I’m Native American, Irish American and African American”)

Everly’s response: Whoa! That’s a lot of Americans!

This morning, with my face smushed in a pillow, a three year old raked her fingers through my hair and said “Mommy. Daddy said to let you sleep in. Are you sleeping?”

I said yes.

And she said “OK. Tell me when you wake up.”

Some time later, Brent set a cup of coffee on the night stand.

I yawned, grabbed my bathrobe and Everly and I made biscuits for breakfast.

We took advantage of the sunshine and walked to church. This week, there was a mandolin and a bongo in the band and we sang my favorite, “How great thou art.”

We ate lunch with family. 

Arlo and I held hands and admired the flowers in grammy’s garden.

We came home and planted my Mother’s Day yellow rose bush in the front yard.

Brent painted our front door red.

That’s what I asked for. A red door.

And while I washed the babies and put them in their jammies, he put on the last coat.

Then we all stood in the front yard, eyes towards our house, admiring it. 

After bed time stories and bed time prayers, I laid in bed with Everly for a little while. We do this thing, where she will wrap her arms tightly around my neck and refuse to let go when it’s time for me to say goodnight. She always says “I’ll never let go!” and then she waits for me to say it back in my dramatic movie voice “I’ll never let go, Jack!”  and then she says it that way too and we both giggle.

Tonight, I promised to let her watch the movie Titanic when she is a teenager so that she will one day understand the reference. 

coffee. hymns. family. a red front door and my favorite goodnight ritual.

I can think of no better day to celebrate this day.

Happy Mother’s day!

Love,

M