This was one of those weeks where when I look back at the pictures from Monday I can’t believe it was less than a week ago. The long weekend on top of all our regular activities plus a busy work week for E meant I spent a lot of time in the car, a lot of time with all 3 kids and a lot of time wearing leggings.

Sunday:

That looks comfortable.

NOT OK

Happy Valentine’s Day?

Monday:

I abandoned my children to video games

…and whatever this mess is…

…to take VERY IMPORTANT PICTURES

Tuesday:

Of course the morning we have plans is the morning he sleeps in

They are way too big for that cart

I let him play on my phone during Caroline’s ballet and found a dozen of these.

Wednesday:

Yes dear, your toes are very dirty, I see.

KEEP DOING THIS

I swear I feed him, he just really wanted cake

Thursday:

That’s his eating seat

SNUGGLES

Check out my leggings I will never wear again because I ripped a HUGE HOLE across the butt. In public.

Friday:

My toddler + extra ginger toddler = a game where they jump off chairs

Linc INSISTED he needed to wear these boots to the grocery store

He also insisted on helping me drive while we waited outside Caroline’s piano lesson

Saturday:

Just when I was ready to pass on the trains, everyone loves trains again

New hair color

NEW FIT BIT!!! All my walking COUNTS AGAIN!!

I swear I washed those leggings in between days I wore them. I also washed that grey sweater. Twice. Because I’m wearing it again right now. I’m pretty ready for spring so I can start wearing dresses with cardigans again instead of JUST leggings. Although I’ll probably still wear a lot of leggings.

Last week I helped throw a surprise twins baby shower. The party was a surprise I mean, not the twins. Well, the twins WERE a surprise, but they aren’t now. Now we all are very aware that my friend Steph is having identical twin girls sometime in the very near future. We are very, very excited for her.

One of my co-hosts found out from Steph she was really attached to the colors yellow and purple for the girls, so that was the theme we ran with. I hope she REALLY loves those colors because when you tell someone the theme is purple and yellow you end up with nothing but purple and yellow gifts. I’ve decided that to fit the theme she has to name them Violet and Marigold, but strangely Steph thinks she should “talk to her husband” and “let him help decide”. It makes no sense to me, but whatever. I’m fairly confident Vi and Mari will look beautiful in their purple and yellow outfits.

I filled in a few inexpensive bouquets from a local flower shop (McKenna’s, I highly recommend them!) with yellow pinwheels from Oriental Trading.

Diaper cake made with love by my co-host’s 2nd grade daughter.

Rainbow circle bum pants! Hanging up the baby clothes as part of the decor was a great idea I stole from Pinterest (like most of my great ideas).

Lemonade and champagne, because what else could you possibly want at a baby shower??

Yarn mobile I made (just like the ribbon mobile I made for Caroline’s nursery)

Lemon buttermilk petit fours (adapted from this recipe)

Popcorn balls (don’t they look like hydrangeas?) These were a really big hit with the big-sister-to-be.

Juice for toddlers, because there were a LOT of toddlers.

Cream cheese and bagels from Poppy & Rye here in town. That herb cream cheese might be my favorite food on the whole planet.

Most of the food was guest provided which meant there wasn’t much for me to do at all (besides eat way too much sugar). New babies are always such a joy and since the youngest baby in our friend group just started walking – despite our best efforts – we could use some teeny tinies around here.

January is just crawling by. It’s dark. It’s cold. The kids are making me INSANE every second they are home and not involved in a structured activity. They won’t stop torturing each other but they refuse to be separated. I feel so much sympathy for my own mother, since I’m pretty sure I was EXACTLY the same way with my sister as a child.

Sunday:

There was a thunderstorm, so Caroline tried to help Brutus be less scared

Frozen Monopoly

Linc cheering for the Golden Globes

Monday:

SURE FINE GO PLAY IPAD JUST STOP WHINING

Literally hiding from the whining

Judo time

Tuesday:

Babies who are awake at 7 have to come to the cold bus stop

Dentist sunglasses

Thank blankie is the most disgusting thing I have EVER seen.

Wednesday:

Loves swim

Love hoodies

I ordered this dress-up from China and it came in less than 2 weeks

Thursday:

Tiny sailor boy in his bunk

So cold, but so snuggly in his fox suit

By Grabthar’s Hammer, you will be missed

Friday:

Friends let friends eat their extra waffles

Piano lessons

Bored at the very busy grocery store

Saturday:

2 am. Baby screaming in my face while I try to watch Friends. #blessed

Super happy about her baby oranges

OK, I guess comforting his crying sister means he isn’t THAT much of a jerk

I have my first photoshoot of the year tomorrow and there is SNOW on the ground. I don’t know if my clients are super thrilled but I sure am. It’s going to be gorgeous. But cold. Super cold. So I plan to spend the rest of the day (no school!) hiding under a blanket while my husband (no work!) keeps the children from killing each other. Because that is what I do on the days HE has work. I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.

Welcome to Caroline’s Nutcracker Birthday Party! As always, this will be super long and picture heavy.

This is Caroline’s 5th birthday, which means it’s her last big everyone is invited party before we switch to family/special day/maybe a couple friends/sleepover parties. I can’t say she’s quite accepted that fact, since she told me today she wants an ice skating party next year, but I’m pretty happy I only have one kid to plan huge parties for (at least for the foreseeable future). I really do love throwing these huge birthday events but fall is my busy season for photography so doing a birthday on top of that is a tiny bit overwhelming.

With a December birthday and a daughter who has been in ballet for several years already, I’ve been dreaming of a Nutcracker Birthday party for a while. For those who haven’t been reading my blog for 5+ years, her previous themes were: Winter Sparkle Snowflake, Woodland Fairy, Princess and Mermaid. They were all really fun, but this year was the best.

I’m going to put in a page break after a couple of pictures because I just looked and I have 177 edited photos from the party and I’m going to have a hard time cutting that down to an acceptable number. I’ll round up sources at the end and link recipes in the food section, although a lot of the recipes are stuff I’ve linked for every party since her first (because I cannot have a party without thumbprint cookies).

Despite the fact that it is December in Connecticut, the weather was in the mid-60’s for her party. I would have done a lot more outside decorating if I had known the kids were going to spend ALL DAY in the yard or on the porch, but at least I got lights on the house and a couple of Nutcrackers for the planter boxes. I found those at Lowe’s. The sled and wreath are just my standard Christmas decor. It’s really nice that the first act of The Nutcracker is just a Christmas party, so all my decorations were already on theme.

Decor:

I made the wreath using Jill’s tulle wreath tutorial. Super easy and super cute, although glitter tulle is the fabric of the devil.

PINK five balloon from Party City.

Candy cane garland from Oriental Trading, who was kind enough to give me a party budget and send me some of my decor for free because they’re awesome and I am a very, very loyal customer.

Little house from Ikea, circa 2012

Christmas card holder made by my very talented husband. You can see a bunch of Caroline’s invites I used to fill it in until it gets full of holiday cards from friends. Those invites were done by the AMAZING Becca of Jumping Jax Designs. I cannot recommend her more highly – she is creative, talented and so fun. She turned my very vague ideas (“I’m doing sort of all the colors, but girly? And a little vintage? But not too cartoony, still classy. But good for a 5 year old?”) into the CUTEST invitations. The ballerina in the middle has red hair and glasses. I mean.

(more…)

Last week I went to Ulta and spent a bunch of money on makeup. I haven’t bought real makeup in a really, really long time and I don’t think I’ve ever bought all the things the sales girl recommended. Because it’s really expensive. But I’ve been feeling really old (even with blue hair) and I’ve been super unhappy when I look in the mirror, so spending a little (a lot) to feel better seemed reasonable. And you know what? My selfie ratio has gone way, way up and when I walked past a mirror today I was surprised to see someone who looked so happy. I think it was money well spent. Please enjoy a lot of selfies this week.

Sunday:

Beautiful morning in our postcard downtown

Caroline loves church because a) coloring and b) coffee hour

Cotton candy sky

Monday:

His favorite spot is on my back, even when I’m not wearing him

Totally normal grocery shopping

Sleeping like a posed newborn baby

Tuesday:

The sun starts to set before the bus even comes

This coat was an excellent purchase

Waving at the big girl ballerinas

Wednesday:

Nursing, sleeping baby in Target

Even the filler paper from Shop Sweet Lulu was fun

Stars in his eyes

Thursday:

So November

They asked me to take this photo

Birthday invites from Jumping Jax Designs come with goodies

Friday:

Baby sword fights seem like a wise choice

This weather can stay

No nap baby can’t stay awake when he’s wrapped

Saturday:

Raking is the worst

That house is called Greene Gables. They’re not green and it’s pretty abandonded, but I was still pretty excited.

Pile of gravel + waterfall = best day for a 6 year old