A little less to Love: Mrs. August

The only thing I can think to say is

"well....hello 160s!"

I completely and hopelessly realize that I am tipping the scale on the

 higher{est} end of the 160s.....details

none the less a number like that  definitely warrants a fist pump in my book!

via
Lately I have been waking up telling myself to be kinder.

To be terribly kind to myself and be fiercely kind to others.

I loVe that the simplicity that statement brings to my life is almost tangible.

So many of the lemons of life are fixed by simply being kind.

I kind of LOVE that.....

Kindness is so simple. Sometimes so hard. Yet the impact is always so so so profound.

My Mantra in life from here on out is to simply "be kind."

and to trust in a loving Heavenly Father that things will work out :)

because they always do......I love him.

*Mrs. July (weight loss)

** This week my folks are going to be in town!! YAY! I have decided to turn off the computer (so hard all my friends live in here!) so that I can completely and utterly enjoy every second with them! I am thrilled to have them in my home! I have so many things I want to share for next week...trip to the aquarium, a puppy party, diy vases....and maybe the maternity photos I just received in the mail....we shall see on that one...

she did such a nice job so I just might have look past my bare stomach and swollen ankles and share them with you lovelies!

Have a happy "kind" of week my dears!

The type of stuff

memories and love handles are made of...

 we took the mister to his first pit bbq shop

he tried fried okra for the very first time....

and maybe... the last time.

 the Husband informed me that he is taking our little family to 

Krispy Kreme this weekend to show our

children how donuts are made!

it is getting super educational around here folks!

 this is the Husband telling me to put my camera down with his eyes..

very sexy...

and this is right before the sweet waitress gave the little mister a blue otter pop

that was sprinkled all over our van...

not pictured the little miss and I....and the Husband and I playing the 

blame game 

after the otter pop incident ... my least favorite game

nobody wins!

have a happy weekend!

I used to want it all!

"You know your life has changed when...going to the grocery store by yourself is a vacation"~motherhood

"we used to want it all now all we want is to pee alone" ~motherhood

My little miss turns 3 months today! I decided to venture out of my home with both kids in tow...By our third stop I was holding the car-seat in with one arm and my screaming toddler in the other....My sweet children were having a screaming contest...the verdict is still out on who won. While I tried to push my cart across the store with my hips....haha

I came home drenched in sweat with a little more pep in my step. 

Taking both children out by myself? 

I look disheveled but feel awesome!

Have a happy weekend!

lets compare, shall we!

just when.....

i didn't think she could get any cuter

 she starts sucking her thumb

Lets compare my two babies, shall we!

When Miss Wynn was born I kept asking The Husband 

"how did we do it? We made the same baby twice!" 

But at 3 months I think they are starting to look 

more like siblings and less like twins! 

Here is their newborn comparison....

Back when I was convinced I had a hidden talent for human cloning!

love affair

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” 
― Marc Riboud

Thousand of photos have found their home filed {somewhat/not very} safe on my computers monitor. With a promise of being sorted and filed and made into a book.....I have been making that promise to my photos for the past two years!

 Last night I started the audacious task of organizing. I've found it strangely addicting. The first six months of my Misters life are now in neat little folders.....that would seem like more of an accomplishment if he wasn't going on 26 months old! His first months of life are documented with blurry photos, poor composition and awful lighting.....My emotions have been dancing between I am so embarrassed I took that photo.... to oh my goodness he was so tiny, I just love him...he is so perfect! 

My love affair with photography didn't begin with the birth of my sweet babies....More like it began with the birth of this blog. Oh but those sweet babies of mine definitely fueled within me a desire for the world to witness the way the Miss looks at life with such curiosity and wonder, and how my little Mister can tell you what he is thinking with his animated eyebrows. So I would find myself picking up my camera. Feeling frustrated my photos weren't recording the raw beauty of the mundane moments that my eyes were constantly witnessing and my mind just as quickly forgetting.  After spending many late nights studying with my dear friend google and practicing and failing and practicing some more, I could finally see my photos starting to take a breathe of life. It has been so very  exhilarating and dare I say liberating....it is just the beginning!

I have compiled a list of my very favorite photography resources!  I surely wish I would have known about  two years ago! Mainly in photoshop.... during my selective color and patching on a balding mans hair days...

- Pioneer women ( she explains how to use manuel beautifully!)

- Clean Color workflow (this baby would have saved me days of googling! Total game changer!)

- Chic Critique (celebrity photographers critique your work! Both awesome and nerve wracking!)

- I'm head over heels over the moon for this black and white action and these lovely hazy actions (I really can't say enough good things about these little time savers except that they're FREE!)

- It is unfortunate how much money I have wasted spent on actions. But oh my the itsy bitsy lite actions and the MCP bag of tricks were worth every single penny! LOVE them. I also have been having barrels of fun experimenting with the munchkin & mowhawks actions.

Photography can be expensive....But I keep reminding The Husband that there are worse habits to have! Right?

Do any of you lovelies have any tips tricks or actions that you think I should know about?

If so I can't wait to hear!

* I forgot to share my favorite {free} resource for exquisite fonts and smashing graphics! PUGLY PIXEL.......that lady has skills! 

Putting a price tag on peace of mind: My guest post

Hello There my name is Cate from With a Touch of Pretty I am captivated by pretty things and a lover of life. My husband is the silent sexy type...just the way I like em' we have two sweet babies together and I have an identical twin sister named Candi.

Before I became a mother, my older sister mentioned to me "You haven't experienced guilt or worrying until you experienced motherhood."  Whatever could she mean? Me and my worrywart personality quickly found out!

Can you buy peace of mind? You betcha!! 

Below are the three products that I consider peace of mind with a price tag. I love them.

This is for every mother that wakes up frantically just to make sure their child is breathing.
The Angel Care sleep monitor is the answer to every mothers prayer. You simply place a sensor under the mattress and an alarm will set off if the baby stops breathing. When my sweet Wynnie was two weeks old we actually had the alarms go off. I had never seen The Husband move so fast! She was in a deep slumber and her color returned as soon as we picked her up! As terrifying as that experience was I was so grateful to have the monitor in place! Love it!

Halo sleep sacks solve the blanket dilemma! My two-year-old sleeps with this one. I never worry about him kicking off the covers and little lady sleeps with this one. I never have to worry about anything getting over he head. Love that. That really is peace of mind!

Last but not least the nosefrida "Snot Sucker" it looks and sounds gross but after one use you will seriously will be hooked! It works so well! Go ahead and throw you old bulb syringe away you will seriously never want to go back!!

Thanks Carlia for letting me guest post! It was so fun!

Big News

I officially have a uniform......because I am terribly exciting like that! I have the same long dream of a nursing shirt in every. single. color.......my former 17 year old fashionista self is shaking her head right now. Life is so much simpler now....the biggest question I face in the morning is "what color should I wear today." My 12 year old self  is considering buying matching earrings in coordinating colors ....please stop me. 

I think an intervention is in order! 

Every nursing mother has my whole hearted permission to march their buns over to Target and wear the same look every. single. day...unless your feeling particularly wild...they do have striped version to this dream of a T.....just a thought ;)

Other "Big News" The little Miss had her very first play date....I think it went well!.....

Don't you?

That sweet baby belongs to  a dear friend I roomed with in college. It was so fun to visit and for Candi and I to ooh & awed over her mad mothering skills........her little lady just slept and smiled....what the.....her secret was consistency....I read that would do the trick....

I really should give it a try ;)

A tender mercy

Hours after little miss Wynn Charlotte was born our pediatrician came to examine her. We really love our pediatrician (in a get down on one knee and propose, take him with us if we  ever move sort of way;) He started off by telling us exactly what we wanted to hear, that she was beautiful and perfect and we did so good.....and was she breech? Because she has a severe form of hip dysplasia.

 He explained that both of her hips were completely dislocated and he was able to "pop them out and swish them around." Just the thought made both The Husband and I go pale{er}
Because it was so prominent she would likely be in a little harness that followed her shoulders like overalls and would make her legs stick out like a little froggy......for upward of six months.....the first six months of our sweet daughters life would likely be spent in that harness and the only person I mentioned it to was my Mom. I didn't want to take from my little dears grand arrival.

 Prayers were said and progress was made. At 2 weeks old she laid on a bed at primary children hospital. It just seemed so wrong to see someone so small on a hospital bed. A doctor wearing a 60's style toupee informed us that she was healing herself and would mostly likely only have to wear that harness for a month and by her first birthday this would be long forgotten. Those chubby little legs of hers would be walking.

Last week I walked in thinking she would be getting her harness and instead we came out with the best kind of news....her hips look perfect!! We are thrilled!