"No, You cannot marry your cousin."

We recently packed up our crew and traveled to Indiana for my cousin's wedding!

It was one of those trips where, during the 5 hour drive, I had to keep

reminding myself that we were going to have some good family time!

**"stop being crabby we're having fun family time!!" might have come out of my mouth at one point.**

Before we lost shannon, I was blessed by a random "stranger" with

an airplane ticket to fly down to atlanta to visit everyone.

Little did I know that would be the last time I got to see Shannon.

It's experiences like that that make me so much more determined to make the effort, however challenging it may be with little ones, to visit friends and family. Life is too short to stay in the house doing a routine nap time! pshhh.. lets live a little and lose some marbles.

I'm so glad we made the effort to go.

Family is important.

The girls had fun, but are now stuck on finding their

prince after seeing all the love in the air! ;)

SOPHIE: mom who is going to be my prince? how about jude?

ME: honey you can't marry your cousin. and you'll find your prince one day!

SOPHIE: how about micah? ME: you can't marry your brother either.

SOPHIE: why? ME: because micah is gonna marry another girl.

SOPHIE: I'm a girl. he can marry me.

(I didn't bring my camera..but had my iPhone to snap away!)

car trip tips:

1. BUY and PACK scooby doo graham crackers snacks.

Looks like dog bones... immediately awesome to toddlers.

2. pick up bribery dorito bag at gas station.

3. do NOT share your water bottle with the toddler who just ate the doritos.

My girls have a lot of cousins nearby..

but they don't get to see their atlanta cousins as often.

So I was happy they had the weekend to catch

fish together, eat ice cream and force them to slow dance with. good times.

My cousin's wedding was BEAUTIFUL!!

I made the mistake of quietly whispering in sophia's ear "He is about to say you may now kiss the bride!".... because she then responded with "Daddy says you don't kiss boys!"

loud enough for everyone in the rows around us to hear.

only to follow it up with "Are they going to have a baby now?"........... :::head in hands:::

I love the first dance at a wedding reception. love love it.

But my cousin and her "prince", as the girls call him, 

had the most AMAZING first dance.

It was like straight out of a movie. so romantic!

Sophie: "Mom.. the prince is handsome. he has nice hair."

 

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day!

So thankful for all of the men and women who serve our country and

those who have given their lives!

God Bless America.

Hope you got to soak up a lot of family time over the long weekend!

"I will melt all the popsicles if you don't go to bed."

Today was one of those days.

comfy target tee. ae jeans. target flip flops.

air dried curly hair up in a pony with a headband.

Nap time wasn't happening as smoothly as I was hoping needing...

I threatened to melt all the popsicles if they didn't nap................

it was a long morning.. felt like mom of the year here.

stash that one away in your bag of mom threats.

You would think by now I would have learned to think twice before I make 'threats'...

They hold onto these things..and then use them against each other. Pretty sure tomorrow when sophie's mad at sienna she'll threaten to melt her popsicles. haha.

Not one of my finest moments.

Once before Christmas we made the mistake of "joking" that if they were naughty,

Santa gives reindeer poop instead of toys. (?)

For the next month we kept hearing it come up in conversation about this very serious issue of reindeer poop. scarred for life. it STILL comes up.. they are planning ahead.

The other day we forced spring to come by having a picnic at the park...
and it worked! 

We've been enjoying the sunshine here in Pennsylvania.
I always miss atlanta during the winter here...
but as soon as it's spring I love PA again!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - "Noo sienna... we don't play zombies."
THANK YOU boy cousins for that one........ ;) haha.

HEART MELTING MOMENTS-

I love sophie's doodles. I have to control myself from framing every single one.

Just every other will be fine. ;)

What I Wore - Top: Kohl's. Jeans: AE. Sandals: Target. Necklace: Molly Suzanne.
Love Molly of Stilettos and Diapers! You should stop by and say hi. and check out her shop!
This little anchor necklace is my go-to when I'm running out the door :) Simple and sweet.

LIFE:

Reminder: Next time do not tell girls about going to grandma's house in the summer, till the DAY BEFORE. I've been asked at least once an hour, since then, if it's time to go to grandmas... Sienna: "eyeee MISS gwandma...."

Pretty much a weekly occurrence ben and I will be hugging
then simultaneously fake snore and laugh at ourselves.
sleepy much?

Was at the park having a picnic with our crew.

Someone asked us "those all yours? you're done right?! ::wink::"

Dear sweet random grandpa, Yes they are all ours. and no.

Our life is crazy but it's our crazy. and it's nice. :)

FAVORITE PART OF MY DAY-  after I put the girls down for their naps...
I snuggle with this guy and he usually falls asleep for a good chunk.
Sometimes I pull myself away to get stuff done...
but most of the time I decide everything can wait.
He's only gonna be this tiny and round for so long...


If you are on Facebook..hop over to my Facebook Page and join our conversations!
Love the chit chat we get going on over there...
especially loved hearing your comments on the "you're done right?" comment.

How to take Better iPhone Photos- My Favorite Apps

My most frequently asked questions via Instagram are

1. "Where is your rug from?" and 2. "What App did you use on this photo??"

(ps. rug from rugsusa.com)

I love taking photos with my iPhone..it's an easy way to capture moments with my kids!

I also love editing photos.. but with how busy life is, I'm really loving some apps that make it quick and easy to make your photos the best they can be.

I'm sure plenty of people have their own favorite apps or photo tips..but here are mine!

Happy to share my phone-photo-taking-tips

AND what I do to my photos before posting to Instagram. :)

Phone Photo Taking Tips: (pretty much the same as regular camera tips)

--Like with your regular camera...the sun is your friend!

We end up all in my bed snuggling or playing a lot..and the lighting is always perfect in there.

Find a spot in your house that is bright and cheery and snap away!

--I snap multiple photos of the same shot. My kids move a lot.

-- STRETCH. You might feel awkward..but stretch that arm out to get you in the photo. You can always crop out an awkward arm. :)

--FOCUS. tap someone's face to focus on or wait for your phone to find the faces.

I'm not patient enough for that. ;) (tapping on the faces also helps with the lighting.. I usually tap the darkest area and let it adjust the light. if it's too bright, tap another area.

--Be Silly. Silly faces and silly voices get the best faces. So make a fool of yourself.

Yay! favorite app time!!

I use my phone's camera to take the pictures.

I then open in After Glow (Now called AfterLight and no longer free)

I love the Captain Filter. I always, brighten, sharpen

and then lower contrast a little to make it more natural.

Lately I've been opening my photos first in Snapseed and doing the drama effect..But not always.

I also use a great app called moreBeaute2 to add a glow. watch out how much you use or else it'll be too blurry! Just a touch does wonders and can make a photo extra dreamy.

I use PicFrame to collage all my photos..except I use AfterLight for the circle frame.

If you have any questions leave a comment! :) 

These editing tools are great for food and home shots too!

Hope this was helpful and have fun!

If you do anything to your photos...brighten them in afterlight!

iPhone Dump - Get all up in our Business

Life is moving in super speed it seems...

A typical day seems to fill up without even trying!

We start off with a baby party all night.. Which leaves me in a morning coma so I put micah on the floor to giggle & wiggle around...which leads me to realize I need to vacuum and then I start cleaning our crazy house. (photo proof of the craziness below)

And while I'm cleaning I find the girls' hidden snacks from the day before which reminds me they need to eat something other than pretzel sticks.. go to make them something and realize how behind I am on the dishes...happy playing kids so start to clean it but am interrupted by a hungry 11 week old.. who I soon realize has pooped out of his outfit so I take it to put in the wash and there realize how much laundry I have so I put a load in....

And the busy day to day activities continue.

The typical mom cycle. haha. It's called survival mode.

Some days I have plans..and get things done..other days..I don't. :)

My husband has given me some much needed breaks though..

Yesterday I went completely solo to target and chick-fil-a...o ya.

And I met a new blog friend for lunch at Panera earlier this week.

Sweet Kacia from Coconut and Robot. So excited she jumped on board to help

me plan a Blogger Meet n' Greet for the Ohio Valley Area

Meal wise making up lots of Freezer Crock Pot Meals.

The Pulled Pork is for sure one of my favorites.

Made it for sandwiches for 2 meals.. and then tacos for a 3rd

(yes it's that good to eat 3 times ;)

Yesterday's Target Haul. 

I thought micah might appreciate sleeping on boy sheets.

Grabbed up another pack of swaddles for my sanity..

and spoiled myself on the planner that I had been eyeing for a while. It went on sale! ;)

Baby Giggles.
You're welcome.

A Favorite Recipe in our house.. Chicken Parm.

My girls love chicken.. I don't make this often but it's always a hit

and gives us sandwiches the next day! Sienna at this for breakfast once.. silly girl.

The photo to the right is before the mozzarella and sauce. yummy!

Ben and I (+micah) had a
hot date night to Giant Eagle.
It's a luxury grocery shopping together without kids.. I know you agree.

Sophie: "Look Mom I dressed up Micah like a pirate!"

Sorry little man.. so sorry.

CRAFT TIME- Did some Valentine's day DIY-ing this week!

Shared the photos of our little Photo Session Here!

My little bear. He is seriously getting cuter every day.
I love kissing his little chubby cheeks.

LITTLE MOMMIES- I keep finding sienna with my nursing cover.

Once I overheard her say "Monkey, wanna nurse?"

She also helps SO MUCH by pulling out all the wipes

and folding them nicely in a pile........

BABY BURRITO- This is how I'm getting him to
finally calm down at night and sleep in his crib.
It keeps him from those baby flailing moves while he sleeps.
He likes being snuggy. :)

Baby Date Night.

Earlier this week we went to our friends' house for dinner and a game night.

These two love birds......

Micah is ALL BOY. He passes gas every time I change him.
which is kinda scary.....
I have been pooped on more times than I would like to admit.
Our laundry pile is proof of that.
 Below is a happy baby proud of his latest diaper blow out.

And Here's proof of a messy house.

Keeping it real.

The girls said the cleaned it..I came to do the final touches. ;)

PARENTING 101- I might have used a Wendy's frosty

as bribery for my girls to get them to nap one day...

Parenting 101 awesomeness.

I also let them dress themselves that day.. little fashionistas.

BABY #3- This is how we change diapers in our house.

BABY PARTY- This is micah at midnight...........
Yep.

SISTERLY LOVE- Wrestling turned snuggle time.

I think Sophie won?

Hope you have a nice Sunday!
We are having some friends over to watch the Super Bowl.
Not a huge fan for either team..
for me it's all about the food, commercials and Beyonce. ;)
We are doing fondue at our party! Excited to see the girls try it for the first time...
Not so excited about the possible mess. ;)
Thanks for stopping by!

Day in the Life Post & "You Know You're a Mom if. . . "

Some mama revelation:

You also know you're a mom with a newborn and a

sleeping husband if in the morning he says

"he slept pretty good last night huh!"................not. ;)

You know you're a mom if your idea of relaxation is a solo trip to Target. ;)

And you know you're a mom if you can't use the bathroom without

fingers under the door or someone busting in asking to sit and watch. (seriously?)

Still not getting much sleep these days.

Micah seems to think night time is when the sun comes up.....

even with his sisters having a dance party in high heels right next to him...he sleeps.

I'm sure you could add more of these to the list!

comment below if you have any good ones...

or join the conversation on my blog's facebook page! ;)

Cute Baby Giggles.

You're welcome.

haha.. seriously though..my phone is

busting with photos of this cutie.

He is solid. My little butterball.

I'm not a fan of the sleeping only 10 minutes at a time at night... not a fan.

Good thing he is so cute. ;)

LIFE.

Our days feel jam packed...even if we don't go anywhere.

And most days.. we don't! Haha. I am trying to tackle life with 3 indoors...

before I brave the world with them on my own. ;)

The other night though ben and I went to see Les Mis.

Micah crashed our date...but he was soo good! ::sigh of relief::

The Freezer crock pot meals have been a big help!

I am already looking up new recipes to add into our mix of favorites for next time!

There was a shark in the water and they

had to put everyone in their boat. Obviously...

(please overlook the hole in sophie's pants. her FAVORITE pants...

even though I bought the same pair..she knows.........?!

I need to patch them up.)

Sophie loves to cuddle up with Micah.

But I'm not so sure Micah is feeling it. ;)

Soon though He'll be able to roll over and smoosh sophie.

I'm not worried.

Someone missed their daddy...

this is sienna as soon as he walked in the door..

and then micah later in the evening.

obviously...daddy is comfy.

And obviously the floor is comfy too...

I wish this was me.

Noticed this the other morning...

I think the current residents of the doll house have a little hoarding problem...

and in other news...EVERYONE made it to the manger!

Happy Epiphany everybody!

TOUCHDOWN.

Still recovering from the national championship game.

big notre dame family.

And that is our family update.

Now I need to go...and intercept sienna

from changing her clothes for the 10th time today.