Outside, Inside.

Outside...
The weather hasn't been the kindest this summer. humid. dreary. many, many clouds.
We are actually under a tornado watch right now. Big storms are on the way.
I feel like we live in England...everything so wet and green.
Gardens and flowers are growing beautifully though. Especially my ferns. They love the humidity.

Inside...
It's so easy to keep the house clean during summer.
I made cinnamon biscuits for breakfast.

We have a music room in our house, it's upstairs.
It's tiny..there is a wall of hanging guitars. a violin. and my keyboard.
I'm thinking of changing it into a baby nursery. I haven't decided yet.
I like the little music room, but everyone usually plays music in the living room
or their bedrooms anyway and a little nursery would be cute. Hmmm....decisions, decisions.
I'm thankful I have a husband who puts up with my love of change and rearrange in our home.

I'm getting excited for baby...I can't wait! No one in this house can. :)
I am also getting very curious what baby is. Boy? Girl?
All the old wives tales about how you carry, how you feel, how emotions are...
none of those hold true for me...so I have no clues to what gender is growing inside of me.
Eventually we will know.

I'm going to take the flag on our front porch down before this big storm rolls in...I hear thunder already!
Hope you're having a great start to your week.
Happy Monday.
XxOo

Strawberries and Sacred Jar Rings.

Even though I've gotten more organized with my canning gear over the years,

I still find myself scrounging around kitchen drawers and basement shelves...
....hoping to have enough rings for jars when it's time for processing.

Jar rings are like missing socks in this house.
Each jar is paired with it's own lid.
The lid never leaves the house...the lid is washed with the jar, kept with the jar...
....yet somehow there are always a few that go AWOL.

Since the only thing we've canned so far this summer is strawberry jam..I have an abundance.
Come late September when we're making applesauce, the last and final canning event of the season...
....that's when they will become sacred!

We went strawberry picking...Allison and I.
27 jars of jam we made. 6 quarts frozen for smoothies and muffins. The rest eaten fresh.

A few days ago I was in love...at this point I don't really care if I see or taste a strawberry for a while.

I love that my girls are old enough to be in the kitchen with me and help.
It's more fun to work with them at my side rather than all alone. I will miss these days in the future.

Happy Monday.
XxOo

Picking Wild Flowers.

One of my favorite things to do in summer....
Walk through my little town, along the bike path or in the woods,
find all sorts of flowers to bring inside, dry and use to decorate my house.
We go for a walk with scissors and come home with treasures.
Nature shopping.

Yesterday while out walking on the bike path we found hundreds of tiny baby toads.
They were actually....cute. Not cute enough for me to pick up though. ;)
The little kids did though.
They filled their palms with handfuls of toads...then let most of them go.
A few came home with us....but were released into the great outdoors soon after.

Happy Evening.
XxOo

Fashion Tip Friday ~ {I'm bringing them back!}

It's been a while....
...after much time off, I've decided I miss fashion Fridays!

So let's bring them back...starting this week with the...

Jumpsuit/Romper/Overall Trend.
Yes, they were in style back in the 1980's.

If you are a hoarder, this does not mean run to your packed box in the attic and pull out the one you saved....
"JUST in case it ever comes back in style".

Chances are...your old one is not back in style.
I'm Not saying 100% your old one isn't stylish....
but more than likely it's slightly different and you will end up smelling like moth balls
and look very "vinatge"...and not in a good way.

People either love the jumpsuit or hate the jumpsuit.
I happen to think they are adorable..IF worn correctly.

I am almost 6 months pregnant...
Due to chubby hips and waistline issues....I have yet to find one that flatters my ever growing body! ;)
But for the average girl/woman...there are so many options out there this summer.

Below are a few I found online that I really like.

I would also like to add that overalls are back...I have always been a lover of overalls.
But PLEASE..I beg you....Be careful and wear them correctly.

Make sure they are slightly fitted...
do not tent them over your body because you think they are a thinning cover all. They are not.
You will add 100 extra pounds to your backside if you don't buy the correct size and style.
Do you want to look 100 pounds overweight? Didn't think so.

If you're not sure about the fit..don't buy the overalls.
Or..you can also always ask a trustworthy sales associate if they look okay.
He or she will usually tell the truth...if you can't trust him or her, send me a text..I'll let you know. ;)

So glad it's Friday. We have a somewhat busy weekend...
Lego convention, birthday bonfire, celebrating our dads and grandpas....etc.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
XxOo

Emmet Bruce and a few iPhone Pics.

We celebrated five birthdays in our family last weekend...
...my niece, my grandma, my nephew, my sister and Sammy.
He turned 12 at the end of May. I can't believe our youngest son is 12.

My sister and her husband surprised him (and his mom!) by giving him a parakeet! ^^^
His name is Emmet Bruce. Sam's choice for a baby name is Bruce...
...he was able to use it for his bird's middle name,
since his mom sort of shot that idea down if baby is a brother.
The full name he was hoping his father and I would agree to...Bruce Wayne. Ummm...no, sorry. ;)

Happy Almost Weekend!
XxOo

Rain and Broken Washing Machines.

It's been dreary this week. Today is 64 and rain.

I think I would like one day out of the week to be like this during summer months.
It gives me time to catch up on inside work and not feel like I'm missing the sunshine outside.

We went to the library. Three of the kids signed up for the summer reading program.
We dropped bags off at goodwill. We went to the grocery store.
We baked bread and cookies this afternoon.

I washed two loads of laundry at my neighbor's house...Why at my neighbor's house you ask?
My washing machine is broken.

It's a very fancy washing machine....it has no business breaking!
The sad thing is...I have been doing so well keeping up!
I felt so June Cleaver-ish! I was organized and on top of  the laundry piles!
Oh well..I'll get there again....
...as soon as the $100 part we ordered comes in and Mr. Handsome fixes it for me. :)
Funny how we take our washing machines for granted until we don't have one anymore.

{Fresh Bread}

{Girls counting rain drops}

{Radishes from my neighbor's garden}

Happy Wednesday to you.
XxOo

Hello Summer.

We've had rain, we've had sun.
Flowers are blooming, the pool is ready...summer. It's here!

Two of our boys (and my brother) ran early Saturday morning.
One ran a 10K...the others a 2 mile.

The race happened to be only a few blocks from my favorite bakery....
Sooooo I ate doughnuts and took pictures. It was the right thing to do.

I maaaay have felt a little intimidated when I saw another pregnant lady walk by,
bigger stomach than me, further along, I'm sure she was due that afternoon!...
...number pinned to her running shirt, stretching with her son.....silly lady.
Why inflict guilt on other pregnant women? It's not nice, it's not right.
She should be eating doughnuts.

I thought all this as I shoved another bite of custard and chocolate into my mouth
and realized she was the one missing out.
Oh well, I'll run and work out later. Probably. :)

 

...Hope your Monday is a good one.
XxOo

Those Little Tap Dancers.

Model "A" Day.
A fun little 1920's festival that takes place every June.
Lots of 1920's cars. Popcorn. Roasted Nuts. Music. Bubble Gum blowing contest.
Ice Cream. Old fashioned boxing matches....you get the idea. 

My sweet sister Stephanie...
...in a matter of weeks taught the girl cousins in the family {all eight of them}
a tap dancing routine and made {along with my fabulous sister in love Rachel}
eight "1920's" dresses to wear.
Without patterns!...amazing to a non-sewer like me.

The girls were absolutely adorable dancing together.
They are blessed to have each other.

{Stephanie and Charleton ^^^}

Family and friends came out for the day.
It was hot and sunny and I took a bazillion and one pictures
and ate a bazillion and one pieces of kettle corn...for the baby of course.

XxOo