free...

the other day...Monday specifically I guess ~ after school for the girls...

we had some free time ~ and it was a beautiful day ~ absolutely beautiful day ~ although they played outside at school ~ I wanted some outside time with them...just us three ~ well four including Miss Cadence...

I love to surprise them on Mondays by bringing Cadence in the car when I pick them up...every week I tell them "I've got a surprise for you...you want to guess?"...

hmmm....and they still keep guessing, and I love that...

Easy surprises make me happy...

{So} in our neighborhood we have quite of bit of area that hasn't been developed...

and I wanted the girls to be free for awhile ~ we live on a corner lot without a fence so you know that really doesn't happen much to where I don't feel like my 2 year-old is running in the opposite direction as my soon to be 4-year-old is wanting to be in another...

I drove to the back of our subdivision in an empty cul-de-sac with a decent view...this area was perfect...because my girls love "fluffs" or so that is what they call them ~ there was a ton of fluffs!

...and it was peaceful just letting them run around for awhile picking as many "fluffs" as they could in those tiny little hands

and what I love to do best is watch my girls interact...of course they don't always get along...that is sisters for you...BUT they do most of the time and their interaction just melts my heart...

they have a sense of freedom between them that I find is also bringing them closer as they grow together

It makes me smile...a little bit of time I can sit back and actually do nothing other than watching them together in a place where I don't have to worry about the noises of cars...maybe a few airplanes here and there...

but the quiet where I can just hear their voices, the breeze, you know that peacefulness {is that a word?} or maybe hearing myself bribe my youngest to stand still long enough to take a picture with big sis...

but regardless...

feeling the freedom of doing nothing feels so good sometimes...

feeling the breeze

and the quiet of your surroundings is so wonderful...

seeing them grow as sisters together is so important to me for so many reasons...
I love that we were given the chance to have them close in age...

their bond makes me

laugh
smile
love

I am the happiest when I can watch them and have those special moments with them...

and I just followed them around trying to do justice with pictures to how peaceful our hour or so was

and do justice to how the breeze moved their hair and the "fluffs" in their hands...

the part that made this moment special for me as a mom was the fact that they are not just sisters by blood...I mean they are...but they are sisters also by love and acceptance...they have a special bond that goes beyond blood

Madison is so aware to Hayley's needs and Hayley never forgets to do something for Madison...

And I will not and am not too naive to always think it will be this way...because I know they will have their times as they get older where it won't be...but I am hoping they will know their is a solid foundation between them to come back to ~ at least I hope...I'm not perfect but I am trying to show them that without really saying it to them...

I love this age {maybe because it is the right now}
but now when they have the conversation between them makes it interesting to say the least...I sometimes laugh so hard I cry ...

like a couple of evenings ago {maybe Monday too}...Hayley started talking about Donkeys at dinner...where donkeys entered the mind of that little one I have know idea
but Madison chimed in...

'Hayley we don't eat donkeys...that would be disgusting!"
Hayley: "donkeys...wa-custing [her disgusting}...eat donkeys"
Madison: "we don't eat horses Hayley {since I guess they are like donkeys too}...disgusting"
Hayley: "yes disgusting"
Madison: "or hippos, giraffes"
Hayley: "donkeys"
Madison: "no Hayley...we don't eat donkeys"

and what do you know it repeats all over again...dinner conversations at our home get interesting and repetitive...I promise you don't want to know what was discussed at Madison's first birthday dinner...I won't even go there...

but anyway...

I loved this hour or so after school...where I wasn't stressed about my list for a moment...or dinner...or anything...but just letting them be free and letting them be

and I cannot wait to do more of this kind of fun when the spring and summer weather is finally here...
so please get here quick Spring...please come early because you see the girls and I want some more days like this outside:)

Here's to another day of just being...

dream...

with us...

to a land of pretty Snow White princesses...

today is a Snow White birthday party for Miss Hayley...

the planning, preparing, and fluffing is almost complete...

yes...her party is a bit early than her actual birthday...

but my little dragonfly is celebrating today...

so it is a full day of fluffy and yummy frosting...

so yummy that Madison and I almost snuck a cupcake from this wonderful bakery on the way home...

the smell of them filled the car and we almost couldn't resist...and that has never happened before...

so I think this bakery is a keeper!

today we will have lots and lots of snow white because that's her favorite...

and according to Hayley Snow White is known as "Toe White!!!"

with just a few hints of apples spread throughout...

and what's a little girls party without balloons?...

and yummy fruit sherbert punch...

with her traditional dragonfly sugar cookies ...

celebrating with the family and friends who could make it to spend such a special day with her...

Hayley was our awaited surprise...who is always full of surprises herself...

she is our sunshine...

lots of smiles...

and not just any smiles but infectious smiles...

 giggles...

and love...

She loves her family

and to snuggle and kiss {oh boy}

but I'll let you in on one little secret...

we also call her our little "sh%$"

she is into messes, jumping off furniture, and taking chances...
and still doesn't let us take her picture outside without hanging onto the railing...
she must think it is the thing for little girls to do:)

I know, right...you have a whole new opinion of hubby and I for referring to her as our little "sh%$", don't you?...

but we can't help it...

it is the truth...

and we love her so much for all the happiness she brings and we laugh as we hear her calling the neighborhood cat a puma...while Madison explains to her for the 100th time that it is just a big cat Hayley

Hayley has a sister who loves her dearly...and it always shows

Happy 2nd Birthday Hayley...
you are so much fun and full of life
our love...

in his words...

I had gotten this book for Bobby from one of my very favorite people Tara at Blondie 'N' SC {at one of her  shops here.}  The book initially blew me away to say the least...

I am not just talking about the beautiful cover or the weight of this precious book ~

but precisely the foreword to the book...the inside goods...

The book,  Around the World with Eyes Wide Open

I cannot help but share this little treasure with everyone and hopefully it will bring you joy just as it did to me...this may be my "boring" side you know...but I love travel...I love reading about places...I love dreaming...someday I will and I cannot wait to do some mission trips somewhere...

...and of course these beautiful pictures are taken by Tara {with permission} because hers are far better than ever mine could be of the book...

Here we go

in his foreword entitled "How it Happened..."
{text provided is exact text in book but paraphrased a little by me too~ 1898}

"It happened in this way. In the Spring of 1895, a handsome map of the world was presented me by a friend at Baltimore; and while glancing at it, hanging on my study wall, I arose from my desk-chair, one quiet mid-night hour, and traced with my pencil a route from Baltimore, over the American continent, to San Francisco, thence to the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, China, Malay Archipelago, Ceylon, India, Assam, Arabia, Africa, Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Europe, and back again to the Monumental City. This was only on paper!

But, day by day, as my eyes turned wistfully toward the map, which now became increasingly fascinating, the desire of my life to visit the countries of the world, and study the peoples of earth, grew into a determination to start upon this circuit of the globe at the earliest practicable moment. Difficulties which seem insurmountable, frequently fade away as you approach them.

Distance not only lends enchantment to the view, but oftentimes it disenchants, by seemingly magnifying the obstacles that lie in the pathway of our goal.

The only way to do a thing is to do it.

... A few months after the pencil-tracing on the map was made, I waved farewell to my loved ones at the Union Station, Baltimore, and was off - moving toward the setting sun. ...I decided, in my journeyings, frequently to turn aside from the usual route pursued by the globe-trotter: to rough it while studying the customs and characteristics of natives far from the treaty ports; systematically to record my impressions and the results of my study, on the ground, day by day, while they were fresh in my mind: to illustrate these strange scenes and interesting studies both by the pen and photographic art; and to present to the public a book on travel that would be somewhat unique in its character. If I have enabled others to share with me the pleasures and profits of my visits to many lands and among many peoples....my pen has not written in vain."

H. Allen Tupper, Jr.

Published by the Christain Herald
Louis Klopsch

1898

The book was supposed to be for Bobby...hmm....he may not get his hands on it quite yet...at least not until I am done...{chuckle}

simply what spoke to me was his interest in humanity, travel, and study

...and also this amazing but simple quote...

"the only way to do a thing is to do it"

I love this quote because all of my favorite things in my life so far...are those things I decided to just do.

I'm not quite sure how the book will end up as far as the text or what his opinions and thoughts entail...but from the outside it sure is eye candy not to mention the pictures are amazing...

I cannot wait to see his view from 1898 {perhaps earlier since that is the published date}...

this book was sweetly dedicated to his wife and children...

Now all I need is a chair on the beach, umbrella, mai tai, and the sun to dive into this...

{sigh}

someday, right?

now to sweeten your day hop on over to Tracey's blog for her amazing give-a-way...if you haven't already!

fly...

{photo taken on our vacation}

{photo taken on our vacation}

to a world of warmth...

togetherness...

growth...

love...

friendship...

{photo taken on our vacation}

family...

hope and peace...

celebrations...


celebrations for even the smallest of things...

seashells and sand...

starfish and sunrises...

and...

so fly away with me to whatever place makes you happy...

Lovely day to you everyone...



sidenote...I didn't notice until I just posted the picture...but Hayley spreads her fingers on her left hand open wide when she is excited too...just like her mama...that just gave me a BIG ole' smile just as Madison has...

i'm ready...

for some inspirational photos that make my heart pitter patter...

how about you?

no matter what happens...we all need inspiration, right?

ones that help me refocus on the end result perhaps...we will see...it will take me a lot longer than expected...but that's okay!

I've found a few with some very specific ideas...that I fell in love with the moment I saw them...

but some of two of my inspirational words for the week....ones to carry me through the rest of the planning are:

cozy 

and   

dreamy

First thing is first...

I was looking through photos...and saw this one...our exact bed...
it made me laugh and smile...

did you see that chandi?....exuding more beauty than I can describe in words...
the girls love it because the "so-called crystal knobs" create rainbows from the sunlight....
and it is magical to them...

and in this picture...I love the curtains behind the bed...

we don't have a window behind our bed...but i would love 3 white chippy paint shutters to go there...and then a big curtain rod...with white white curtains...to make it extra dreamy on either side of shutters you know...

creating the idea of a window but not really...


speaking of dreamy...this feels dreamy...and cozy...the concept I love...

and I haven't started looking yet for this...but when the time comes...I want one of our side tables to be like this...

I cannot believe I found an inspiration photo of exactly what I want...well the color I want is all white or my favorite beachy blue I would do a happy giddy dance over...

and this last one I found it make me smile...and hopefully I can get some inspiration from it for Madison's room as we finish it up...

left on her list is...

a new lamp

and a fabric headboard we are going to make sometime early Spring {I hope}...

Here's to a week of inspiration...

all photos are courtesy of Country Living...

for a super fun give-a-way...from a talented and generous woman...stop by Tracey's site at French Larkspur to enter before Sunday!!!

the small things...

one

step

at

a

time

{picture taken on our vaca}

i feel happy seeing that our new friend in the kitchen...provides so much fun for the girls...

they keep bringing the step stool out of the restroom and placing it in front of the window...

they share it...

they get giddy and excited about their new special place...

there used to be a small breakfast table in front of the window until our friend arrived...

and now it is upstairs in the loft...

so today I am smiling at them...

taking it

one
step
at
a
time ~

because today I must do that...

and I am smiling at my girls looking out the window...

hearing their conversation which went a little like this...

"Momma...a puma!!!...Momma look...a puma!" {it really is just a big cat ~ and that was Hayley by the way}

And Madison replying:

"Hayley it is not a puma...it's a big cat!"

"puma...PUMA"...

"it's a big cat Hayley"...

And then the conversation starts all over again...

I love that...and hearing that...

so today...I'm thinking of the small things and taking it

one

step

at

a

time...

because some days...that is just what you have to do

even if you feel like there is a blank slate...uncertainty...or feel as though the truth is buried

the answers will be there...they always are...it just may not be in our {my} timing perhaps...

I love the little things...they are my favorite:)

my new friend in the kitchen...

helped me cook this...

maybe it didn't really literally help me cook it...but you got to love it anyway and plus it never hurts to have a beauty in the kitchen while you cook...

although our fabulous pizza we made...
I like the looks from this view better...showing the tomatoes...not the pepporoni...pepporonis were added to the recipe by Bobby

I'm not a pepporoni girl so you can only tell Bobby's 1/2 of the pizza, right...I much preferred the overload of tomatoes...{I know the pictures of the pizza aren't the best...taken when it was in the oven because I forgot before}

this beauty I have been dreaming of ~

one I am sooo happy I patiently waited for because I walked in to take another peak at her ~ and she was on sale! A pretty decent sized sale...so I was sold in a heartbeat...

I was in love with her wheels...the barnwood...the layers of paint i could see...

we picked her up over this past weekend


and I've still got some fluffing to do with her ~ I am constantly re-fluffing as I walk by
but she looks fantastic and finally some more storage for our kitchen that we so desperately needed and wanted...

and oh yes...I did place my frame of my handsome man on it too...he was sitting on what was there before...and oh does it look great here too...
sigh...
probably embarrassed him but that's good for him:)

of course...I didn't forget to pick up some bargain tulips at Trader Joe's to place on her...

and I'm working on placing a #13 in every room...

if you think the pizza looks yummy...my parents recommended it to us...I'll give you the recipe for my side...super yummy...although it called for artichoke hearts...which I love but forgot to pick up at the store...
yummy enough for hubby to say...you mean you didn't actually use sauce {he said this a couple days after we made it}...because it was that good to him :)

I said..."no honey...it was the grape tomatoes...when you cook them in the oven the heat does just the trick...and creates a much better sauce from the fresh tomatoes...and see you didn't even know the difference until after the fact"

made me laugh to say the least...

Artichoke, Tomato, and Spinach Pizza

in the Feb. 2010 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

5 tablespoons EVOO

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper

1 pd. refrigerated pizza dough {we were given homemade - definitely suggested over pre-made by me}

2 cups shredded mozzarella

5 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

one 13.75 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved {I probably used more than called for}

2 cups baby spinach, chopped

one. position rack in the lower third of the oven, preheat oven to 500 degrees {I actually cannot go above 475 because my smoke alarm will go off and it still worked great. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, parsley, season with salt and pepper

two. using oiled hands, stretch the pizza dough to fit a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Spread 3 tablespoons of the garlic mixture on top, leaving a 1/2 border, then sprinkle with the mozzarella and 2 tablespoons parmesan. Toss the artichokes, tomatoes, and spinach with the remaining garlic mixture and arrange on top of the cheese. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons parmesan on top. Place the baking sheet on the inverted baking sheet in the oven and bake until the crust is crisp and golden, 18 to 20 minutes.

oops I forgot I added black olives that I had on hand since I forgot the artichokes...

Enjoy!