Sweet Weekend.

The girls and I headed to Arkansas to visit my parents for the weekend, after I realized I had not left our town since I was 36 weeks pregnant, which was, oh, almost three months ago? IT WAS TIME TO BREAK FREE.

It was really fun for Naomi to be the oldest sibling for a few days. She was the center of attention and loved every minute of it. Her Pepere made her favorite food (EGGS) and she got to mix birdseed with her Memere. And, they all enjoyed lots of time outside together in the beautiful sunshine. It was so sweet and so fun!








(I love this picture--so typical of trying to get a group shot with two little ones!)



And I got some extra sweet time with the littlest sister, too.






A lovely girls' weekend, indeed.

Have a lovely day!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Boo-Hoo Moo Moo.

It turns out our Itty Bitty Liddy Bug has a sensitivity to dairy. If you've read my blog for a while, you'll remember that Naomi had a hardcore dairy allergy that consequently limited my diet drastically, because, let's face it, milk is in EVERYTHING. Thankfully, Lydia's sensitivity seems to only show itself when I consume large amounts of dairy, like a cup of milk or a bowl of ice cream (meaning she gets gassy and fussy). Small amounts of cheese or milk mixed into food do not seem to bother her (phew!). So, the food I usually eat is still safe, except I've nixed ice cream and have replaced our milk with almond milk and coconut milk. She does not have a sensitivity to soy, which is a huge blessing ... I don't think I could live without my salted caramel soy mochas! And, I love coconut milk ice cream, but our local grocery store does not carry it, which is probably just as well, since I'm still shedding some post-pregnancy pounds. ;) The soy mochas are dessert enough!

And here's something interesting: Since I am no longer drinking milk, the kids have also joined me in consuming non-dairy milks and the mild cases of excema that they both carry have faded considerably. I know that excema can be caused by a dairy allergy, but since my kids are still eating cheese and such, I wouldn't say an allergy is the case with them, but I would say that perhaps too much dairy exacerbates their excema and the absence of it has probably helped to clear it up. They have a topical steroid that helps to clear it, but I'd much rather hand them a cup of almond milk to drink, if it works!

So, I'm waving goodbye to dairy milk for now. Even though her gassy episodes are nothing like her older sister's issues as a baby, I'm still glad I can make a change that puts her stomach at ease and brings her back to her chilled out, laid-back self. Perhaps when she is older and she weans, I will treat myself to a huge bowl of peanut butter cup ice cream from Braum's. Yum. For now ... maybe I'll freeze some chocolate almond milk. ;)

Have a lovely weekend, friends.

Wordless Wednesday: Pretty In Pink.

Going Through The House: The Kids' Wing.

On my way to decorating the formal dining room, I got a little sidetracked and took a detour through the kids' hallway. Because, what can I say. I just love these guys.

We lovingly (and jokingly) refer to this hallway as the "kids' wing", even though it is, obviously, just a hallway. But, aside from the laundry room and a closet, this corridor is the kids' domain, housing their bedrooms and bathroom, and I wanted to add a few personal touches to emphasize that.

The first project was an idea I saw while I was Pinterest-ing during a middle-of-the-night feeding with le bebe. I came across a contributor who put the outfit her baby wore home from the hospital in a shadow box. Love it! Instead of using the kids' take-home outfits, I used the outfits they wore when they were dedicated. I dug into their hope chest and went to work!

This is the bonnet and shawl that my Memere made for my Mom when she was dedicated as an infant, so it's extra-special that Naomi got to wear it, too.

Loved his little vest!

If you come into our house through the laundry room, these are the first things you see, and I love that we get to look at them every day. And yes, there is a space on the wall for Lydia's, too!

Further down the hall, I took a cue from my genius friend to display the kids' masterpieces. I found a celadon green curtain we were no longer using, and, after stripping its backing, I cut it to size and stapled it to a bulletin board and then pinned some of the kiddos' works of art to it. The kids love it! Their artwork is out there for all to see. Totally fun. And, my refrigerator isn't quite as cluttered ... :)

And, lastly, a photo collage of the inhabitants of this hallway. They grow so quickly. Love them.

There you have it--a peek into the much-adored "kids' wing", ha ha! And now, onto the formal dining room.

Um, after I finish the kids' bathroom first ... :)

Have a lovely day!

Friday Funny.

Have y'all seen that Disneyworld commercial? The one that shows a lot of happy families having fun in the sunshine with One Republic's Good Life playing in the background? That chorus is just so catchy, I recently made it my ringtone.

You can probably see where this is going.

Picture it: Thursday morning. Cub is crying because he got in trouble for not being nice to Naomi. Naomi is crying because Cub was not nice to her. Lydia is crying because I'm putting her in her car seat. And all while we're trying to hurry out the door. Chaos, crying, rush, Mama frantically trying to contain the crowd.

And my phone rings.

Oh, this has gotta be the good life,

This has gotta be the good life,

This could really be a good life, a good life...

The peppy chorus was barely discernible above the little moment of chaos that was playing out in our entryway.

I stifled a smile. And then burst out laughing.

Hooray for moments of hilarity in the midst of a morning rush.

Have a lovely weekend, friends.