Joyfully Weary

cardigan: crazy 8 ( similar $10 ), pants: gap ( same ), shoes: thrift ( similar $35 )  I'm a small town/country girl at heart and sometimes I get the urge to listen to some country music, especially, while I'm cleaning. This morning when I was listen to my pandora station, Martina McBride's song "This One's for The Girls" came on. Well later in the afternoon I hear Mini Man belting it out, but he had changed the lyrics so they were about him: "this one's for the boys, who've every had a broken heart, like Micah!" He was singing with so much passion I almost lost it - this kids has a lot of emotion for a four-year-old! outfit: gift ( same ), leggings: old navy ( same ), shoes: hand-me-down ( similar $25 ) Little Lady turned three this past week and this matching girl and doll outfit was a gift from one of her aunts. She was pretty excited to put it on and to show everyone at church that her and her doll matched.  shir...

This past month we've been learning a little bit about winter - original, I know! We've done a winter theme is the past and I've been rotated some of those activities on our shelves as well as adding some new ones. In addition to my three kids (2, 4, & 6) I also babysit a 5-year-old girl. These activities are designed for their various ability levels. For my oldest, Big Buddy, these are a supplement to his first grade curriculum.  Here are the new items I have added, you can see our previous winter theme unit, here .  Language lower case and capital letter mitten matching: i've hung a rope across one of our doorways and  the  children match the letters and then use the clothespins to hang them.  *i've made the pdf available here . homophone mitten matching: follows the same process listed above but with homophones. I have made the pdf available here. snowball letters: depending on the child, they can either ...

Before I had kids I had never been able to curl my hair. In high school I tried lots of devices and products and could never get a curl/wave to stay more than an hour.  One of the results of pregnancy for me, though, is that my hair is now a bit thicker and actually has some texture. I just started adding some waves a couple months back and like how it looks. I'm, however, out of practice and rarely have a lot time alone in the bathroom (kids!) so I don't get to do it as often as I'd like and am still mastering the technique.  cowl: gift/diy (similar $55) , shirt: old, belt: thrift, skirt: thrift (similar $110 ), shoes: dsw ( similar $37 ) This dress is an old one for Anthropologie . My mother-in-law took the hem down a bit for me a couple years back. However, it still feels a little too short to wear with out tights - kids make short hemlines more complicated. With some thick sweater tights, though, it feels presentable - you at least won't be abl...

This post is part of weekly series inspired in part by Bob Bennett's song "Small Graces". sometimes they slip by without notice sometimes they are very hard to see other times it's very clear when they are happening to me they are a reminder to the heart there is more to this life than meets they eye... He is in the small graces, the little moments when the miracles come... small graces pointing me to the larger one... little glimpses of the kingdom come The beginning of last week started off really well. On Sunday, after church, we spent the rest of the day out and about as a family. We ran a couple errands, ate at our favorite fast food place, Chipotle, and then went ice skating. It was the perfect start to a week! I wish I could say all of the week went that smoothly, but towards the end of the week my PMDD kicked in and all of a sudden I felt very weighed down. Everything feels harder and currently, not being a...

A few  worthwhile things I've stumbled upon while wandering the internet.... I love hearing about people/communities who are willing to think outside the box to solve problems, the way  Utah is ending their homelessness epidemic  is inspiring.  12 unborn animals in the womb/egg    - it's fascinating/awe-inspiring to see how they develop. Design Sponge  offers  52 creative and affordable ways  to organize your home.  A  fun quiz about what city you should actually live in. I got Paris, what's your city?  Old-fahsioned things girls of the '80s and '90s loved - I was at some point obsessed with almost all of these things. I also thought I wanted to be Amish.  My little girl is pretty feminine. Don't get me wrong she loves doing stunts with her brothers but she also loves pink, dolls, sparkles, and clothes. I don't really have a problem with toy companies making items pink or purple; what scared me about...

In the past we've never really decorated for Valentines Day , except for the day of when we hide hearts. This year, though, I had a couple ideas I wanted to try and we've also decided Little Lady's birthday party theme is going to be hearts.  It's still almost two weeks before the party but this way I figured we'll get a lot of bang for our buck.  All these decorations are really inexpensive - maybe $6 dollars a piece, at the most. They are also all pretty simple - the kids helped a lot. Another thing I like about these ideas is that with a couple color or shape changes, they work for pretty much any holiday. For example, if you substitute green for red/pink and shamrocks for hearts you'd be all set for Saint Patricks day. 

sweater: hand-me-down ( similar $13 , or  similar $74) , leggings:  old navy  ( same $8 ), skirt:  old navy  ( similar $27  or similar $23 ) shoes: thrift ( similar $12 ) I was really surprised she chose to put on this skirt Sunday morning. The evening before, when I laid it out, she brought to me and said: "I don't like this...and it doesn't fit anyways!" It always surprises me how opinionated she can be about her clothes.  cardigan: gift/gap  (same ), shirt: old navy ( similar $10 ), jeans: ( same ), batman shoes: gift ( similar $36 ) In school we are learning about Gilgamesh. Big Buddies eyes, as I read to him about his battles are amazing - so big and focused. History is one of his favorite subjects; today we had a little bit of a tiff when I told him he'd have to wait till tomorrow for the last part of Gilgamesh trilogy . Currenlty, I can hear him and Mini Man acting out the story in our playroom right now....

I read in some fashion magazine last month that pleats are going to be one of the trends for this spring. I'm pretty excited, because currently I can't get enough of them. There is something about pleats that make me feel extra graceful and feminine.  sweater: gift ( same  - now on sale for $30), dress worn as skirt: ( same ), boots:  dsw  ( similar $80 ) Not trying to make a fashion statement with my necklace; for some reason the clasp kept coming forward all day. Any suggestions how to fix it?  shirt: gap ( same) , jeans: anthropologie ( similar $118 ), earrings:  beatniks  ( similar $38 ) shoes:  diy  ( similar $25 ), necklace: target ( similar $36 or similar $14 ) Want more? Check out these link parties to see lots of other ladies having fun with their clothes:  Watch What I'm Wearing ,   Monday Mingle ,  Totally Posted ,  Style Sessions,    What I Wore Wednesday ,  and...