Raising Cubs in a Campground

Just one of the many decorations at our Halloween Party on Saturday night. Have a safe and fun evening everyone! I'll be back with Elsa's weekly update and photos of our party soon!

Liz had me cracking up when I read that quote from the movie in her comment yesterday. She guessed correctly that Julia is going to be Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia and that Sam is going to be Peter. It only took her two guessed to figure out that Elsa is going to be Aslan, the lion.  Way to go Liz!!! That leaves Edmond and Susan for PapaBear and I. Luckily Walmart sells bow and arrow sets for $6!  I enjoyed hearing from you on whether or not you decorate for Halloween or not and found myself nodding in agreement with everyone. We have spent more time prepping for this Halloween than all others combined, but the house is coming together nicely for our first ever Halloween Party. PapaBear hammered, drilled, & cut while I traced, cut, tied, & taped today. Tomorrow I'll make a Target run for a few things I didn't get the other day and we'll shop for the food. Our menu is pretty simple because everyone brings an appetizer or dessert to share. We're making ...

Julia gets to wear her costume to dance class tonight. How fun! It will be interesting to see if anyone knows who she is dressed as. Even with her props in hand and after she says her character's name, many people don't know who she's talking about. Can YOU tell who she is?

Here's hint #2 for our costumes: Today was spent running around looking for the supplies to complete all the fun decorations I found on Pinterest for our Halloween Party on Saturday. It was exhausting, but fun to be creative on a budget. The Dollar Store, Goodwill, Joann Fabrics, Michael's....I visited them all and even completed a couple projects already this evening. The kids loved helping out and I'm excited to see how it all comes together for the weekend! We've never decorated for Halloween before and I've surprised myself by what I'm using for decorations this year - I'm very conservative when it comes to Halloween - hence no decorations before.  I feel like since we're hosting the party though we need to do something and so I'll spend the week preparing that something and of course share photos when it's all said and done!  Do YOU decorate for Halloween?

For the past couple of years I've neglected to get a decent picture of my kids in their costumes on Halloween. It's either too dark, the kids are too distracted, or I plain forget to get the camera out. I don't even have a picture of Sam in his very first Halloween costume! (He was the cutest little mouse you ever did see at 2 weeks old!) This year I wasn't going to let the fact that we are hosting the Halloween Party for our friends to get in the way of snapping a good picture of my trio so today we put costumes on with plenty of daylight to spare and got some really sweet ones of the kids all dressed up. Rather than showing you them a week before Halloween I've come up with a little game...I will post a picture every day of some element of their costumes and have you guess what they are going to be. (NO fair guessing those of you who already know the answer!) The only hint I will give today is that there is a theme to their costumes... all our costumes to be e...

One of these days the weather is going to change and we'll no longer be able to be outside for her weekly photos but until she gets cold we'll continue to take advantage of our Indian summer. SIXTEEN weeks of no rain on Fridays - that's got to be some sort of record! This week marked my first week back to work part time. I'm not taking new book clients right now and photography is on hold indefinitely, so I'm taking my time getting back into the swing of things. I can't believe how quickly the summer went and I'm so grateful for the time I had to focus on being mom and a homemaker. It is HARD to work and keep up the house. Really hard. There just isn't enough of me to go around some days! By Thursday when I'd reached my goal of 440 pages I was ready for some down time so Elsa and I wandered Target & did our weekly grocery shopping at a leisurely pace. Target often has coupons or promos, so always check online before you go! Friday we spe...

Her eyes pop open and I don’t even try to suppress the groan. Nap time.. A time to rest. A time to recharge. A time for me to do something, anything, with two hands. Nap time is over. She squirms in the spot on the bed where I gingerly placed her a mere ten minutes earlier after I let her nurse herself to sleep. I watch her from four feet away. I hold my breath. Her head turns to the side as her thumb moves towards her mouth. Inwardly I cheer for her “Find your thumb! You can do it! That-a-girl!” The smack smack smack sound is fast, but her breathing slows. She’s asleep again. Peaceful rest. She got there on her own. She doesn't need my help yet I can’t pull myself away from the sight of those squishy dimpled fingers . I can hear the gurgle of her snores above the sound of the Sleep Sheep and for now she sleeps. My arms miss her already. Linking up with Heather thanks to this bonus naptime for Just Write .

Every week I think she can't get any cuter and ever week she proves me wrong. At fifteen weeks I've noticed the drool increasing and she's started blowing raspberries.  We call her Juicy Lucy.  I've been blessed with a good night sleeper but this week she's given me a run for my money. Sure she's sleeping, but I'm not because she's decided she prefers the human pacifer all.night.long. Add to that her shift away from sucking her thumb....and her insistence at bailing out of her swaddle. *Sigh* I think we might be entering new territory as we figure out how to get her second stretch of night sleep to be as long as her 5+ hour first stretch. I'm starting to get very curious as to what her 4 months stats are going to be. One things for sure - her feet are tiny! She wore size 0 shoes to church a couple of weeks ago and this past weekend she wore size 0 sandals for Julia's birthday party. Sam and Julia's first pair of shoes they could fit...

Last year on Sam's birthday my friend Kristina took some family photos for us. I LOVED them, but kept them to myself so I could share them in our Christmas card. Over the next month I played with them and eventually designed myself a Christmas card that I was head over heals about. Exactly one month after the photos were taken I left the house for what would be the very last time for a month and a half. Needless to say, being bedridden because of morning sickness pushed getting Christmas cards ordered and addressed to the back burner. Nobody ever saw our card, until today. Last night as I looked at photos I've taken during Sam's sixth year I came across the beautiful photographs. Rather than being sad about them being hidden this whole time I chose to have a thankful heart.  Thankful because I see in them the love of a family,,,. a family of 4 that was about to become a family of 5 .

Si x After so many rounds of Alphabitty Moments it's getting more and more difficult to come up with a word for 'x' but that's not going to stop me from recording the little things of childhood! I would love to have you join me in this memory keeping meme! Jump in on any letter and leave your link in the comments. There's also a button on the right hand side of my blog if you are interested. Today is the very last day that Sam is six years old.  How fitting to reflect on this past year of life with our Sammy Sam! There is no end to the ways he makes my heart swell with love. My firstborn, my only son.... You couldn't wait to turn six - the age Mommy and Daddy said you needed to be before you could watch Star Wars. At first I was scared by all the interest you showed in violence, but you've proved time and time again that you are still the sweet boy I know and love. Silly is your middle name Sam! That excitement and energy drives you to w...

Did you hear? It's International Babywearing Week? Don't be surprised if you see more of my babywearing photos this week because it's something I wholeheartedly believe in ! I wore Elsa in the Kozy Carrier for the first time today. I can't believe I'd forgotten that it was tucked away in my toy box! She's only just gained enough head/neck control this past week so I am now able to use it and didn't really miss out on any babywearing time.

The days rush by faster than I can keep up. I try to freeze frame the moments with photos, yet time marches on. My quest for that elusive perfect family photo eludes me. It’s raining. Each drop taunts me from the other side of the window pane. Then there’s a break. The breeze that has been pumping warm air into our state much later than usual sends some blue sky our way. The Photo Shoot is back on! We rush to the car giving specific instructions to the kids. Don’t run. Don’t get dirty. Hurry up! Be quiet! Don’t tackle your brother! QUIET!!!!!!!!!! I stop. Someone is missing. Do we go back? Do I test the limits of my family’s patience? My heart breaks a little to think this could be the last chance to include him. His last walk in the woods. His last run through the tall grass. I remember fondly his love of tall grass. He used to be so agile in his younger years. Spunk. Life. Energy. It’s at least worth asking him if he wants to come with so I use the voice that is undenia...

I wore Sam in the Bjorn as a baby. I wore Julia in a Kangaroo Korner sling as a baby and a Kozy as a toddler.  Elsa has split her time between the sleepy wrap and the Sakura Bloom ring sling that she's snoozing in during our photo shoot this afternoon. Babywearing is more than just practical for me, it a valuable time to bond with my kids... to feel their warm breath as they tuck in close against my chest and to appreciate the connection that comes with feeling like our hearts beat as one. I was able to get out from behind the camera today thanks to my mom coming over to do some photos for our family. THANK YOU MOM! I will cherish them forever! Linking up with Kyrstyn for Mommy and Me Monday and in honor of International Babywearing Week !

Donning a fancy drss and a crown is new territory for our family. We are usually very anti-princess, but when the kids decided they wanted castle themed birthday parties who was I to say no?  I have to admit, it was very, very sweet to see my tomboy all gussied up. She and her royal court dined on mac and cheese, sugar snap peas, honey crisp apples, and juice pouches before moving on to cake, games, & gifts. After searching for tiaras it was time for dragon egg races (egg and spoon races with dinosaurs in the plastic eggs). Their prizes were candy necklaces and rings. Cake was served in the castle before gifts and then..... they decided to 'clean up'. Good thing it was 80 degrees! Tiarra or not, she's a tomboy at heart! But I hope she never forgets what it felt like to be a queen of her own castle!

Sam celebrated his 7th birthday today with all the boys in his class. The four boys get along so well together - nobody gets left out and they truly enjoy being together.  It's a good thing since they are outnumbered by the ten girls in the class! Sammy settled on a castle theme a few weeks ago so I did what I do every year, I Google until I find all the elements I need to pull off the party of their dreams. I'm lucky that they are easy to please because there isn't often much to be found in the theme they choose! In hopes of helping out anyone out there who decides on a castle theme for their child's next birthday, I've put together some collages of today's festivities. Be sure to click on the collages to make them bigger. (You can click on the BIRTHDAY label on the sidebar for more information on party themes from other years.) Julia also chose a castle themed birthday party so a recap of her special day is up next.  Invites: (text found on an unknown w...