So today is a special day...three months ago I had my precious little boy.

I can still remember getting up that morning with back pain; going to the doctor to get checked later in the afternoon, planning out my drive there so that I would not be in the middle of a contraction; going to the hospital in denial, thinking I would be in labor until the next day, to only deliver him three hours later without drugs...and finally seeing his little face on my chest after I delivered him...my handsome little man.

There have been many sleepless nights, occasional tears of frustration, but above all complete and total happiness. It is so wonderful to see his adorable little gummy smile, the way he lights up when he sees his big sis, and his sleepy little face on his daddy's chest.



Love you little man...you make me so happy!!!

Karis' room...take one

I was going through some photos and came across this super sweet photo of my daughters room about three months after she was born...

I will always love the room that I designed for her...it was so fun to find the adorable bedding by My Baby Sam...trying to make sure that the bedding was a neutral as possible, because after multiple ultrasounds, I was still not sure that she was going to come out at a girl.

I painted most of the rooms a pale blue and accented the crib wall with blue and green stripes, because I was not in the mood for pink (you should see her room now)...and opted for dark stained wood furniture that had a little curve to it.

I am so fortunate because my sister-in-law had a rocking chair and ottoman that I was able to have and paint a chocolate brown color and have my amazing grandmother sew new cushions for it.

The artwork for her room was inspired by her bedding and were actual shots of the paisley design placed in frames from Aaron Brothers.

We did not name her until we got to meet her and landed on the name Karis Grace. I was able to find some ADORABLE letters for her name in the Curlz font from a custom lettering company. I painted them a chocolate brown and hung them with chocolate brown and white stitched ribbon.

Looking back this was a super cute room and I am a little bummed that it is now my son's room... a little more masculine, with different bedding and accented crib wall...but I am glad that I took this photo to remember how cute it was!

Custom Artwork for my little girls room...

I always have had a difficult time selecting artwork for our house, so when it came to selecting artwork for my daughter's room I looked...and looked...and looked...and could not find anything that grabbed me.

At the time, my daughter was almost two, and my husband and I had started singing her the ABC's and counting 123's. I had seen some really cute ABC designs from different sites, but could not find anything in the right size or colors

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So, trying to be crafty with a limited knowledge of Illustrator, I tried to make some artwork myself and this is what I came up with...



Inexpensive bedding from Target that I was trying to match colors too




ABC Artwork print that I created

123 artwork that I created

This was a great little project. I was able to use some existing Aaron Brothers frames that I had and I had them spray painted a white semi-gloss color. The mats were existing from previous artwork that I had in the frames and I popped the art printed with some really cute hot pink stripped scrapbook paper from Michaels.

I searched high and low for sweet fonts that were feminine and legible. I was able to find some free fonts over at kevinandamanda.com.

All in all, I think they turned out pretty cute. The best part about the whole project is that I am able to sing the ABC's and count the 123's with Karis whenever we are in her bedroom!

Karis' Second Birthday...a fluttery event!!!

I have wanted to share with you the best second birthday party I have been to for a long time...my daughters!!! She turned "2" back in April and it has taken me a long time to put together this post to share the details...but at least I have a chance to share it!!!

At the time I was nine months pregnant, on a budget (the design business is not what it used to be) and was inspired by other crafters out there and wanted to try out some of their tutorials and see if I could do some of the decor by myself.

We decided on a butterfly theme, I did cutouts of butterflies in lime green, hot pink and pink for centerpieces of moss and pink terracotta pots. I did a "Happy Birthday" banner with tissue poofs in lime green, pink and hot pink and found the best favors for the kids at Michaels and Target. Butterfly, lion and frog masks that my sister and I hand painted for each for the little ones and magnifying glasses and butterfly nets for a dollar each at Target.

The day was beautiful and sunny and all of the kiddos had an amazing time snacking on pinwheel sandwiches, fruit and sugared treats, while playing with their magnifying glasses, bug catchers and customized butterfly, lion and frog masks.

My favorite part of the party was getting to help Karis blow out her two little candles with my husband on her butterfly cake...all in all, it was an amazing day!!!




Cupcakes for the kiddos



Fresh flowers from my moms garden and vibrant colored tissue puffs

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Karis' happy birthday banner with tissue puffs
and terracotta butterfly arrangements

Butterfly center pieces, magnifying glasses and butterfly masks

A special thanks to all that helped put the party together!!!

My birthday present from 3 Little Birds Boutique!!!

This weekend I received a wonderful email from my friend Kristen over at 3 Little Birds Boutique. It was a note letting me know that my birthday present was on it's way! I was so excited because she had told me in an earlier email that it would be one of her BEAUTIFUL hand stamped jewelry creations; and then she attached a link that made me smile...because it celebrates my two little ones, Karis and Tyler.

Kristen has created beautiful pieces of jewelery; including necklaces, earring, paper products and her upcoming children's line...take a peak at her website and be sure to become a follower of her blog where she talks about crafting, her Etsy obsession and motherhood!

Time to get back to it!!!

Today was the first day that I actually felt like I needed to go for a walk. I think that some if had to do with the fact that one of my high school friends just finished a marathon and she had her daughter in March and she looked fabulous!!! So I decided that it was time to get going since it has been 7 weeks since my little guy entered the world and I honestly do not want to have to buy more clothes in a larger size...every mommies dream right?

So today I took my daughter with me in her Bob stroller and we walked down to the store to pick up some bread, a baguette, bananas and sun chips. We walked a total of mile and a half and it was only about 80 degrees (it will be 102 today).

IT WAS GREAT!!! Karis and I chatted and when she was busy eating her o's, saying "hello" to neighbors or just hanging out, I was able to think...which has not been happening too much lately. I realized that walking will be a great way to just think and figure out what the next step to many of my thoughts should be...now I just have to keep it up!!!

More to come...and maybe a photo later of the two of us on our walk

Been away for a few weeks, we welcomed our second little one, Tyler, on June 2nd and could not be happier!!! Remembering sleep deprivation and overall tiredness from our first experience 2 years ago and adjusting to it as best as we can!

So grateful for the blessing that our little boy is and amazed at the transformation of our 2 year old daughter, she is changing every day!

Getting inspired and a little antsy around the house and have so many ideas of what I want to do and attempt to accomplish on a shoestring budget...till then!