Girly-Girl Giveaway! Pink Chiffon Hair Accessory from Veritas Designs

A friend of mine sent my girls some pretty headbands before Christmas.

I've gotten so many comments on them that I wanted to share them with my readers!

You can enter to win one of your own!

They are designed and created by my friend Geneva, of Veritas Designs.

She is a gorgeous mama and sells so many cute things on her Shop's Facebook Page!

She made this custom hair accessory for me and is now offering it to you!

It's a nice sturdy headband while still being soft behind their ears.

I love a big flower! It's soft from the chiffon material.

The sparkle in the middle is my favorite part. ;)

Enter to win for your own little girl, niece or granddaughter!
Share the link on facebook if you think one of your friends would want to grab one up! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"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!

How I Hang groups of Frames- A Sanity Saver Tip

I'm the type of person that can't live in a space long before I want to decorate!

I have a pretty big collection of white frames from our past house...

and I decided to do a grouping above our sofa's yesterday.

The basement is currently covered in boxes that need to be unpacked BUT!

 I knew where my frames were..and where my wrapping paper was...

so it was go time! 

(As asked on INSTAGRAM: All the frames except the one that holds 4, are from IKEA.

The Couch is from La-Z-Boy, Rug from RUGSUSA.com)

I usually start with laying out my design on the ground.. moving things around...

then I roll out the wrapping paper on the floor, place the frame on top, cut around it then tape to wall where I want it! I take a step back at the end and sometimes rearrange a bit.

It's not an exact science..but it is way more helpful than

just throwing them up and hoping for the best!

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out..

now I need to update some of the frames as soon as I find the printer..hmm......

Micah is usually a fan of home projects.

He was happily watching ben and I hang shelves in the kitchen the other day...

until he turned into a raptor and the decorating/organizing officially ended that day.

REALITY CHECK: If you stop by my house to borrow a cup of sugar...

this is how you will find me. GLAM. please excuse the jazz hands..?!

Most days it's either the house OR me that gets cute.

Sometimes you just can't do it all. ;)

**Obviously would much rather hang frames than go through clothes on floor.

We also hung up some frame ledges and frames above our tv.

this is directly across from our the sofa's from above.

(Need to update the frame on the far right.)

The middle frame has a sweet pre-engagement love letter from ben and

a photo strip of us from dating. :) A good reminder during our busy days.

If you want to see other things I framed..here's a post from our old house.

NURSERY WALL-WHAT I FRAMED

OLD HOUSE LITTLE iPHONE PHOTO TOUR

Thank goodness doctor sophie was able to do a quick in-home

check up for Micah while I got things settled around here.

I was told his heart rated sounded great.

I recently discovered my iPhone photo library was filled with this face.

Sienna pretty much has perfected the kissy face.

She also took the below photo of her brother...

a very authentic "don't even think about it" face to his sister. ;)

You can see more of our house photos as it comes along on my Instagram!

FOLLOW US HERE.

VLOG-Micah...Our comic relief.

Some days can be exhausting...

but this little man keeps us laughing.

Almost 5 months.. his personality is bubbling out!
For more awesome cute baby photos and shots of our day to day life..
Follow Us on Instagram! I just posted me in what I normally look like if you were to knock on my door to borrow sugar. let me tell you... HOTTIE.

Squirrel.

Today we gave Micah his first cereal!

Hoping it will help him sleep through the night better.

The Big sisters were all excited to play with their real life baby doll......;)

I'm pretty much smitten with my gerber baby.

He is our entertainment most days.

So today Ben held down the fort while I caught my breath and took a target trip by myself.

Grabbed up the bumbo for Micah and double stuffed oreos for me.

However.... Micah pretty much got stuck.

He loved it! But it just wasn't going to work.

So..being stubborn... I decided to go back immediately to target, with my whole gang in tow to help make the return. It was fun and exciting.

Sienna was not happy we were returning the fun chair.

Micah is a beast. seriously.

I have a gym with me at all times.

Thank goodness for big sisters who love to push heavy babies.

We Moved! - Moving with Kids is FUN.

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..............................................................................................................

Yep. We moved!

This isn't news if you follow me via instagram or facebook or twitter...

BUT. for blog record...it is true.

We moved last week to a different area of Pittsburgh.

Ben took a new job and we found a new rental minutes away!

It was too ideal a place to pass up. The owners renovated it to sell and ended up wanting to rent it instead. Almost everything is new. It feels so nice and clean..which is all I wanted!

It's not a huge house..but it's just what we need.

great neighborhood and great area.

We have moved a few times before.. so you would think we would be experts. but no.

And having 3 kids under the age of 5 made it a bit tricky to get ANYTHING done.

So we are in survival mode.

(I feel like I say that exact sentence in almost every family update post.......)

COUPLE MOVING MUSTS: Cookie Cake, New Door Matt (Target $12.99)

and Professional Back Massages.

One of the best parts of our new house.. it has THREE Bedrooms!

So that means Micah gets his own room and is out of our closet! ::woohoo::

I'm kinda excited to decorate a boy room. Luckily our neighbor/landlords are amazing

and have read my blog so they are letting me decorate. :)

Micah is kinda pumped.

His own room...also means getting him to sleep through the

night in his crib officially commenced. So far... better than before.

Unpacking is going....slowly.

Everything is finding it's place.. just with a lot of.. um.. interruptions.

Below is a shot of my lap. Sometimes It's easier to stand...

My big girl sophie has been a big helper.

Holding Micah for me.. or playing nicely with her sister.

I feel like the girls are getting better at playing "nicely" together for longer chunks of time.

I'll hear them playing hide and go seek...or school. :)

Sienna has been a good girl too....

in a more active type of way.....haha.

She found one of her nice Easter dresses that I had packed up and forgot where.

Even found tights. (A day too late to wear on Easter... #momoftheyear)

But I admit, I'm impressed with her scavenging skills.

She has been an expert snuggler all week.

Occasionally getting her hair pulled or drooled on.

Just to keep our move exciting, everyone in our house decided to get sick and have a fever.

It was a one day thing and each child took a turn.. AWESOME.

We had dropped off cookies the day before to the neighbors on either side of us (store bought. best I could do.) The next day was officially the hardest with everything.

That night my landlord delivered the tupperware back...

but FILLED with a big chunk of chocolate cake from carlo's bakery!

(he was doing a 10,000 free cake event downtown)

I told her she was my angel! delivering cake to my door!

My plan is to deliver more cookies in tupperware to her house......haha.

It's officially baseball season.

So my philly boy husband and, by default, my son

will be like this till october.

(Finally found that missing drawer 2 days later.)

Moving with kids means
--unpacking breaks to play at the park...

--and unpacking breaks to snuggle.

First "real" meal in our house.. Beef Stew (Pioneer Woman)

and Caesar Salad. I love the Fresh Express Caesar Salad Kits right now.

I remember when dino nuggets were cool.

I raised the bar too high by doing "silly face" lunches.

Pinterest made me do it.

And one thing I can live off of during this move...

yogurt strawberries and granola. seriously could eat for every meal.

Micah's personality has really been bursting out this week.
I'm loving it. and a little jealous every time He takes a nap. ;)


We stay in pajamas a lot...Spending most of the day trying to unpack in between kid stuff.
I'm trying to be realistic in that we won't be unpacked within a couple weeks...
it's gonna take time.
All I want is to get things "settled." So wish me luck!
Gonna keep on juggling. :)
The only way this blog post happened was with micah in my lap...
and letting myself get interrupted to play pretend.
Sophie informed me that I was the witch.. micah was the dragon..
sienna was the horse(for the carriage)...and Sophie, the princess of course!
Not sure how I feel about our roles....... ;)

Can't wait to share more of our new place!

Walking back into Shannon's House- Step towards Healing

I've been putting off this post for a month...

I recently was back home in atlanta and was able to visit my best friend, Shannon's, children.

Two years ago in June, My best friend was violently taken from us

through an act of domestic violence.

The estranged father of her children shot her during a custody exchange in a bank parking lot. the horrific details and what followed I don't wish to write out again.

I had seen the children before since the tragedy...

but this visit was the first one to her house.

The last time I walked through that door...was with shannon.

---I had photos to share of us from my phone.. but I was asked to remove them to protect the kids. I guess their father's parents are trying to get photos of them for him. The fact that I cannot even share them in my life right now makes me sooo angry.He continues to take from us. But I am trying to understand and will not post photos of them to protect them from him and be happy to have those memories and photos for myself.----

My stomach was turning in knots. so many emotions.

I was so excited to see their sweet faces and so scared to relive moments at her house.

As I walked in the door and was hugged by these two cuties and by shannon's dad and step mom.. I fought back the tears.. till the kids were away jumping on my brother.. and then I cried. and Karen told me it was ok to cry. I told her I didn't want every memory the kids had of me to be me crying. I wanted to be strong. but I needed that moment.

A hug.. and some words of wisdom from her and then I was quickly whisked away by emma to see her new room!

I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to make that trip until we were turning into her neighborhood... luckily I was going with my brother

(who was also best friends with shannon) and his wife mary.

They made me feel stronger.

These sweet beautiful children are so joyful. so full of life.

and good huggers. :) and will take pictures for cookies.

I felt like I was in a dream... I was standing in the family room holding micah smiling, watching the kids wrestle with david.. and as I looked up I saw the balcony.. and remembered walking up those steps with shannon. or her running up to grab something and then standing there looking down.

Her daughter was so excited to show me her new room

(that some very generous wonderful friends, and strangers, had made over for her.)

It used to be shannon's room.

The new space was freshly painted. It was so beautiful..with a huge cinderella carriage bed.. one of a kind art work.. beautiful details. She had photos of her mommy on the wall next to her bed. many of them from my wedding day. (she was a bridesmaid)

Pretty sure the last time I was in her room... We had been out toilet papering and shaving creaming our friend's car in the target parking lot (he was the target security guard. he caught us. I ended up hand cuffed to his car. haha.)

we ended the night at her house making cookies and singing and dancing in her room.

We laughed so hard that night.

Below we were in shannon's room... I'm wearing the scarf she made me.

one year for christmas she made all of us girls one. :)

My sophie talks about shannon a lot.

"mama you know your sister.. your friend..who is in heaven..

and is an angel now...I can't wait to go there too and be an angel!"

(she thinks she is my sister even though I've explained it many times.)

When Emma was holding micah...meeting him for the first time..

it made me think back to when I would come in town and Shannon and I

would get together and smile over our babies together.

(black and white photo was our last time together.. introducing our little babies.)

for shannon's sweet children,

your mama was amazing.

she was beautiful.

she was funny.

she loved to laugh and be silly.

she was creative. she always loved when my mom would

give her yarn from our basement that was always stocked with it.

she was spiritual. I remember staying up late talking about our faith our relationship with God..and about boys.. about respecting ourselves and wanting that guy that would treat us right.

she had a sweet tooth. I remember always getting arby's chocolate milk shakes (and curly fries) after XLT (adoration night at a local high school)

she liked to sing into hair brushes.

she was adventurous and we would always go to a rock climbing place and she would zoom up the mountain. usually attacking me at least once with the chalk for your hands.

she was kind.

she loved you.

she LOVED you.

and talked about you all the time.

every phone call revolved around you both and my girls.

about how you guys were growing so much.. how much or how little you slept..

how amazing you were........

I'll never forget your mama.

and I'll never let you either.

I love you both so much... and know that one day when you are older you will read this...

and I hope that I can bring her to life for you through these memories.