3.30.2010

gone to grandpa's

The kids and I picked up Aunt K and my second cousin, Garrett, this morning and headed to New Orleans to visit Grandpa and Virginia. It was another beautiful day here and we enjoyed the ride across the Causeway and the visit with them.....


One of the things I remember most about being at my Grandparents when I was little (and when my Grandmother was still alive) was that I would always get a huge bowl of Neapolitan ice cream at night. Grandpa kept up the tradition by making sure some was on hand today for my kids. They, of course, loved it!



The kids' version of duck, duck, goose!!!




We should have named her Mischief!!





And this one....she is just such a big girl now....I really can't believe it...



Grandpa and his great-grand kids!
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Wish we could see them more...it truly is unbelievable how well Grandpa is doing at 92 years old! He is Mr. Independent. The garbage truck came when I was there, and he REFUSED to let me drag the cans up the driveway for him...he insisted on doing it himself. Maybe that is his secret!!!
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It was a great way to spend one of our days of Spring Break! Loved being there.



3.28.2010

Easter is on its way!

We, along with the Barrois, Bristers, and Kitchens, hosted an Easter Egg hunt at our house yesterday. It was tons of fun for both parents and kids...and the weather was beautiful!


Elise sorting through her loot!



Jody Mai on the hunt....




Lila finding an egg...




Cutie pie Myrt...

Mitchell and Micheal....


The three amigos - Camille, Lila, and Bennett





Our goofy girls....





Lila on the hunt....





The little ones.....

Based on some great advice from the Boerners, who are old pros at the Easter Egg hunt gig, we let the 3 and unders hunt in the front and the older kiddos in the back....Worked out really well...





Love this pic of Elise patting Bennett on the back...





Adorable Mary Miller....





My favorite pic of the night- Davis and his mini-me Jacob...





My big boy....









This is what the "after-party" for 2 and 4 year olds looks like. When they are all on sugar-highs. We put on a little t.v. so we could finish cleaning up and then went crazy to Yo Gabba Gabba.

Dance party USA.


Overall we had about 25 families and lots of kiddos. It was such a great time and lovely weather. And, I had a blast planning it with Kimberly, Suzanne and Bonnie Kate! We hope to keep up the tradition!!


Hope you all enjoyed your weekends as well!

3.27.2010

progress







We have some sprouts!!

3.24.2010

first hunt









Lila and Bennett participated in their first Easter egg hunt of the season today at school! The teachers do such cute things with them, and had painted their faces like little bunnies, and also carrots on their hands. They were so excited to hunt for eggs, and I excited to be there to watch!
They are currently on a feeding frenzy at the kitchen counter of all of their treats. Luckily they were limited to 12 eggs, and each only had a couple jelly beans inside...so, it could be worse!! I'm just hoping that the Easter bunny has listened to my request for VERY LITTLE candy!!
I hear some fighting, so duty calls.....

3.20.2010

creepy crawlers

The kids spent most of the day outside today, "helping" David do yard work, and allowing me to do some much need spring cleaning inside. Throughout the day, they encountered many critters in our backyard including a snake, a baby lizard, and a HUGE spider.

Luckily, David was the one who discovered the snake and the spider, and so the kids were out of harms way...the poor baby lizard on the other hand- well, the kids adopted him for a while and took turns letting him crawl all over them! I was shocked especially at how much the girls seemed to enjoy this....










It was definitely like science class in our yard today!!
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Elise had a soccer game this afternoon and she has improved soooo much! She is having a great time and we can really tell that she is gaining confidence...it is fun to watch!!
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We are making the best of these beautiful spring days before the hot summer of south Louisiana kicks in!! Hope you are as well!!




3.18.2010

thinking outside of the box

I have been the worst blogging Mom lately. I feel like life is getting busier and busier, and just when I think it can't get busier it does. I am really trying hard to be "in the moment" with the kids as much as I can, because I can see them growing up so quickly right in front of my eyes.


Honestly.

Scary how fast.


Without the afternoon nap break, I am finding it harder and harder to find the time to sit down at the computer (among other things!) for any length of time. The kids are in the next room taking a rest watching Sesame street, so as long as it remains quiet, I thought I could post! I definitely don't want to neglect this, their only "scrapbook", so I have got to find the time...

We had a great extended weekend with family and friends as my first cousin Jeff got married in New Orleans. Monique and Phillip came into town on Thursday and stayed through Sunday, and in addition, my second cousins, Terry and Kevin, and their families came in from Dallas. We had a great time seeing everyone. The rehearsal dinner and wedding were both beautiful, and lots of fun!!
We topped off the weekend by planting our first garden on Sunday, and I am just praying (mostly for Elise's sake- this was her idea) that SOMETHING grows!! We have lots of animals in the back yard and I have already noticed some digging in the garden....we shall see. Neither David nor I have incredibly green thumbs, so this could be quite a challenge!
I'll need to go and take some pics of our garden "before"....hopefully there will be great "after" shots!!

Last week the light fixture I had ordered a while back finally came in for David and I's bedroom. The box was HUGE. The kids were thrilled when I gave them the ok to decorate the box and turn it into a fort. The girls got a little carried away with the watercolors, and so the fort was short-lived. But, the garbage men did have a beautifully decorated box to cart away later in the week. And, it occupied them for the better part of an afternoon!








Hope you all are enjoying the spring weather as much as we are!



Grow garden, grow!!

3.10.2010

goofballs








They really are.....

3.08.2010

patience

Too bad it can't be bottled and sold.

Someone would be very, very rich.

As I sit here typing on my "b"-less computer, I am trying to think of ways to gain more of it. You see, the fact that Lila and Bennett have given up naps has caused me to go rapidly through my supply. Rapidly.....
I advise you, if you are in the area, to avoid our house between the hours of 4 and 6:30. Things go downhill. Fast.
I find it ironic though, that as much as my little overtired delirious children have been leading me to the end of my rope at times, it is at this age that I am also having some of my best moments with them as well. Like when I just watched Lila reached up and put her arms around David's neck and say, "Daddy, I love you." Or when Elise was pretending to be Lila's Mommy today, and rather than putting her in time out (as I sadly expected), she put her arms around her and said, "I love you, my sweetie." Or when one of the girls drops a toy and Bennett says, "TO THE RESCUE"...

So, maybe, just maybe, I've answered my own question. Maybe I need to focus on those moments.

Just thinking out loud tonight....

Hope you are having a good one...
Nic

3.02.2010

a look: lila's room

Surprisingly, everyone is still alive and loving each other after the laptop incident. David worked some serious magic with my tweezerman tweezers and managed to get most of the keys back into place and into almost pre-incident working order. We are still missing the "b" key. Hmmm....what a {not} coincidence. I have a feeling that Super Bennett (as he now refers to himself) found a special place for it. Either in the house, or in his stomach....we'll never know!

On another note, I struggle with the idea of posting about "other" things...not directly related to what is going on with the kids, but after some thought, I think some things that move through my mind might be interesting to them at a later date....and, since this is, after all, ultimately for them- I am going to go forward.

I have had a lot of fun turning this house into a home over the past 10 months, and although it is still very much a work in progress, I am really happy with how far it has come. I have been so flattered to have a few friends who stop in here to check on us ask about my decorating, and my process, and so I thought this would be a good opportunity to address that, as well as let the kids hear my thoughts about them and their spaces in our home.

When we moved in, we envisioned Lila and Bennett continuing to share a room for quite a while, which would have given us a guest room.


How quickly things changed....


Realizing that it would be better for both of them to have their own spaces, we separated them, and it has been fun for me to slowly create a space for Lila (and for the other two kids), which both suites her, and blends in with the rest of our home. I am a strong believer in having a house that flows...for many reasons. {disclaimer- I am not, nor claim to be, an interior designer. I am just love the whole field, love putting things together, know what I like, etc...}. If you come to my house you will see the same color stories all throughout, and I like this for many reasons. First of all, just the feeling of continuity. Secondly, it gives you the ability to have a lot of flexibility with your items. Because, unless you are getting new stuff all of the time, you may want to rearrange, move things room to room, etc. For example, I have two chocolate brown slipper chairs that were in the den at the old house. They didn't work in the den here, but because I have chocolate brown throughout the house, I easily found a new home for them in our office. They also could have worked in our master bedroom. You get the point. Anyway, I digress....

Ironically, after a lifetime of giving my Mom a hard time for creating a pink Laura Ashley filled room for me that I had until I left for college, I have two girls who love pink. Payback. But, I am finding a whole new appreciation for pink, especially tempered with my favorite chocolate brown. After trying two shades at the old house, I finally found a pink I am happy with for the walls of the girls' rooms. It is very subtle. Wild Aster by Benjamin Moore.



As I've mentioned previously, Elise was kind enough to lend Lila her adorable antique white children's bed. It is one of my most favorite things that David's parents have given us. The panels hanging above the bed look wooden, but are actually a very lightweight foam (so, no injuries for little Lila should one fall). I have no clue what they are really intended for, but my Grandmother gave them to me quite a while and I think they make perfect "art". The chenille bedspread and sham appear to be vintage, but are actually Martha Stewart for KMart. Gotta love it! I am definitely all about mixing nicer things with budget items. The round table in the corner is perfect for storing books, and was also a gift from my Grandmother. It was a honey oak color that wouldn't have worked, but I instantly pictured it white, and love the way it came out.
The large brown frame holds a needlepoint of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, which my Grandmother sewed when she was pregnant with my Mom for her nursery. LOVE.


Lila is very sweet, but also very sassy, and the fun pillow on the bed that I found at this store on etsy just screamed LILA to me! I have since found some a remnant of the same fabric, and I plan to make some floor pillows or a euro sham for her room in the future. The zebra rug was an awesome DwellStudio for Target purchase! It was in Elise's room for a while, but has found a new home here...too bad they don't make it anymore. It was a steal!! I found her adorable birdie lamp (hard to see in the picture) a-la Anthropologie at TJMaxx Homegoods in Nashville on a trip to visit Mo. Had to have, and at $24 with a shade I couldn't pass it up!


I found the letter plaques on clearance from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child. They were originally $50 and I got the girls each one for $12.99. My adorable Goodwill chair is still waiting patiently to be recovered, most likely in a chocolate brown velvet for versatility. I don't know if it will always remain in Lila' room, so I am going to go safe (as I tend to do with pricier purchases) when I pay to have it reupholstered.

Both of the girls have dormers in their rooms and I would love one day to have window seats built in. I had one growing up, and loved it. So, that is on my list. (David is now shaking his head as he is reading this). For now, the little nook is the perfect place for her dollhouse and a bulletin board. She can stand and play with her dollhouse and the chest is the perfect height for her. Also on my list is to trim these boring roman shades with chocolate ribbon. I have the ribbon waiting, I just need to find the time and the bravery to do it!! They were not overly expensive shades, but I still am afraid to ruin. But, I think they will look much better with the chocolate accents on the sides- will be the look I love from Restoration, but at a fraction of the price.

I bought Lila this quirky poster from etsy as well (can you tell I am a huge etsy fan), and framed it in a large white distressed frame. Poor Lila, although the quote is so fitting for her, I loved the way it came out so much that it is currently in my kitchen....it may eventually end up in her room, but for now I am finding the quote quite motivational for myself...especially on days like last Friday!!


One of the things we loved about this house was the jack-n-jill bathroom in between the girls' rooms. So, predictably, connecting their two pink rooms is a chocolate brown bathroom. (I need to find a before picture of this bathroom. It was very outdated. We did no construction- maybe one day- but with paint, faucets, and light fixtures it is a big change. The mirrors above each of their sinks are from one of my most favorite companies, Laville. I am very lucky to have a friend that sells the line, and she lets me buy it for a great price. I have their frames sprinkled through out my house, and the mirrors in most baths. (Currently on my list- one for Bennett's bathroom. David now really shaking his head).
So, there's a peek into my quirky number two daughter's room. Still needs some finishing touches, but I am happy with the start.
Hope you enjoyed my little tour. Will be back with Elise's room soon.....