Beauty in Bloom

Catching up

I don't even know where to start. I guess I could start by telling you that I am super lazy. True story. Baby I was born this way...hehe. Most of the time when I have a lot going on I tend to shut down. Instead of working my way from task to task tackling things one at a time, I don't do anything. Blogging included it seems. Although, I must say that we have been cleaning a bit the past few days to get ready for friends arriving later today. So excited about that!

I will not be sharing every single photo I took from the past week(even though it may seem like it), just some of my favorites. Oh, and I am sorry if you follow me on Instagram. You have seen most of these. :)

Let's start with Mother's Day weekend.....

The girls were put to work planting flowers for me. I need to take advantage of this more often because they did a great job!

There was also breakfast from Bread co, antique shopping at a new favorite spot and playing in the hose.

Me and my girl. We have been hanging out on the front porch together a lot. It's our new favorite.

Here are a few more pics from that day. The girls found a slug and had some fun playing with it. Ummm, that is so out of character for the Seawright girls. I went with it though.

One last picture from Mother's Day weekend...My sweet hubs working on the dresser I found on the side of the road. Two thoughts: 1. I love him. 2. Maybe I shouldn't even paint it. I kinda like the way that looks.

 

Ok, moving on. I can't remember what night it was but my toddler chipped BOTH of her front teeth. Poor girl was dancing around the kitchen and then ran into the corner of our granite table. It was horrible. Thank goodness it wasn't worse. So ya, that night kinda sucked.

 

In other news, I found a great shade of red lipstick, finally! It is called Wine with Everything by Revlon. I was sooo channeling my inner Kelle Hampton and searching for unicorns that day. It is something she does often. The whole seizing life thing. I sorta love her. She also says that "Red is Ordinary's kryptonite."  THIS  post is what did it for me, you know, made me love her that is. You must read it. Seriously, I mean it. It's sooo good. If you already have, well then read it again. :)

 

I don't know about you but I LOVE me some Barn Owl primitives. Shop here. They have the cutest artwork but I am poor so when they announced that Homegoods would be carrying canvas prints of their work I was so happy again. ;) I have been searching for weeks and I found this one. $16.99. Much more in my budget.

 

How about some more randomness. My bathroom is moving at a snails pace. Many unexpected issues have come up. Thankfully, I have a patient and talented husband who has worked through most of the problems. So far, we have drywall, and a tub & shower. Yay! I can't wait to take a bath in my new soaker tub. :) 10 years I have been dreaming about this. Ha!

 

So that just leaves me with the weekend. It was good. Real good. Friday night I went to a super late 10:30pm movie with my friend Lara(HI LARA!). She is awesome by the way. The movie was too. We saw What to Expect When You're Expecting. So funny! I recommend it.  Saturday morning was graced with fresh donuts. After being up until 1am what else was a Mom to do?? I was tired, so no cooking for me! We woke up and jumped straight into the car in our pj's.

(by the way, they will only eat chocolate long johns. Maybe they do want to be like me afterall! hehe)

 

My mom came over for some jewelry making. She has been hoarding supplies for months and wanted my help with a few pieces. It was so much fun. I even played around and tried to come up with a few pieces from odds and ends that I had on hand.

 

Here is my owl on a branch necklace. I kinda like it. It was kind of random that I even had a bead that was the shape of a branch. Why even fight it, I say :)

The pink earrings were Faith's design. Annie wanted ladybug earrings and that is all I could come up with. The eiffel tower necklace was for Faith. I was literally just piecing random things together. I think it turned out cute though.

Saturday night was our annual progressive dinner for my moms group. This years theme was Around the World. The first stop was Mexico(aka..Margaret's house) where some yummy layered taco dip was served. Next up was Greece(Kathy's house). Where you guessed it, Greek salad was served. Again, very good. The main course was at Lara's house. She did a beautiful job with the food and decor. Italy was captured for sure. We had eggplant parm. My first time and I loved it! Dessert was also had at Lara's(Alyx had to bring it there because her poor son had a fever). It was Jamaican. Ginger carrot cupcakes with coconut flavored cream cheese icing and some sort of chocolate cake. So yummy, but by then I was dying from being SO full that I was only able to take a bite or two of dessert.

The decor.

You see those sunflowers? I got to take them home! Lucky me :)

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It was a great weekend. Nothing crazy or particular busy about it. Just life passing by us too fast. Annie graduated from preschool Sunday. I may have cried before she even walked in. But, I will share more on that tomorrow or the next day. She is my sunshine girl for sure.

To to end this long long post I will leave you with the theme song from Phinneas and Ferb....there's a 104 days of summer vacation.......

SCHOOL IS OUT!!!! YIPEEEEE!

instaFriday

It's week 3 and I am still obsessed with this app, so naturally I will be linking up with Jeannett again. I am beautyinbloom if you would like to follow.

Let me also apologize if you follow me and have already seen these photos. It's unlikely cause I only have about 10 followers. Ha!

Let's start with the bad stuff. Paying taxes. Enough said.

Hello Beautiful. I love you.

This is finally happening after 9 years of waiting. I have hated this bathroom since the moment I saw it. I thought it would be an easy fix all those years ago when we bought this house. HA! It has been completely gutted. We have yet to buy everything to put back in it. I wish someone would have told me to wait. I can NOT find a vanity that I like. This may push things back a bit. Ooops. I may have to settle. It will be ok. :)

Look at the super gross stucco looking walls! UGH!

(UGLY WALLPAPER...BE GONE!)

I found two things this week that could only add joy to one's life. Paper tape at Target. So cute! AND I rescued this dresser from the side of the road. I lit-ra-lee had to flag a friend down who was driving by to help me load it into the back of my van. Thanks Shelley!!! I am thinking of painting it a bold color.

Here is an example of my laziness. Faith is changing Olivia's diaper in this pic. I am not sorry. Faith doesn't seem to mind anyway and oh my goodness that room is messy!

Faith had her Spring concert last night. She is wearing yellow in the crowd. They may have sung a song by Katy Perry. I am still not sure how I feel about that.

And last but not least....Olivia. This kid is going to be the death of me. She has dug in her dirty diaper TWICE this week. Twice people. I swear I am watching her. She just hates me. I think. Well, how could I possible stay mad at this face?  She does bad things and always smiles after.

 

Happy weekend friends!

Weekly wrap-up

It's week 2. I am still loving this (new-to-me) cell phone app.  Probably a little more than I should.  We have had a pretty low key Spring Break.  The girls were so good this week.  I am not going to lie, I was worried.  Here are some highlights...

1. I bought myself a pair of shoes. It's rare. I usually spend all the money that is extra on the kiddos.  These babies are comfy. I see more in my future.

2. Some late night grocery shopping. I bought these designer animal crackers for our zoo trip.

3. The clothing swap. One of my BFF's, Miss Cristalle, holds 2 of these per year.  One in the spring, and one in the fall. You bring clothes...and you take clothes you need. For free! It's a lot of work.  It took us a few hours on Tuesday to set up. (It takes her weeks to prepare, people drop off clothes beforehand)They are worth it though! Love you girl....this is a blessing to many!

4. A new project is in the works.

5. Sweet, sweet snuggles. This does not happen often. And yes, I am going to miss it someday. Desperately.

6. These rascals put on hats and gloves because they said it was sooo cold in the house. I think it might have got down to 35 degrees the night before. Which makes the house super cold inside without the heat on. Ooops.

7. My sweet brownie. She loves Girl Scouts. It's her favorite thing.

8.  We went to the St. Louis Zoo yesterday. I was going to do a separate post with some photos I took from my "real" camera, but there is just not enough time in a day. However, I took some pics with Instagram, oh yes I did. :)

The STLZoo is amazing. I think it's one of the best *free* zoo's in the country.

The giraffes are always on the list of animals we MUST see.

Olivia was not loving the hippos. She was scared to go near the glass.

Butterfly house!

 

Have a great weekend!

We are going to be visiting this place...That's right, the carnival came back to town!

Carnies, funnel cakes & scary rides! Oh my!

 

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What's up...

Not much is happening around here lately.  Just life I guess.  Does it seem like everyone around you is leading such a fabulous life?  Sometimes it feels that way to me.  Just a thought.  I blame Facebook. :)

My poor husband.  If I am not having some sort of break down, then I am just about to.  I think I have finally figured out why(other than the fact that I probably need some sort of medication).

I put way to much pressure on myself. That has to be it.  It is not Facebook's fault. It's mine.  I started the year off with a long list of things that I wanted to accomplish for myself and for my family. A very long list.  Why did I do that to myself?  Way to many expectations and too much room for failure.  I am just exactly where I should be in my life and I am exactly the person God created me to be. I am enough. 

Do I wish that I could have it all together? {Yes.}  Do I wish that I could be thin? {Big YES.}  Do I wish that I could be the best wife and mother? {Of course.}  Do I wish that I didn't struggle with money? {You bet.}  There are a lot of things I struggle with and will probably always struggle with.  There is one thing I know for sure. If I have learned anything in my walk with Christ it is that there is nothing I can do to make Him love me more.  Nothing whatsoever. He paid it all.  Why do I always forget that one important thing while I am in the middle of these break downs over not being enough.  I had to write(type) it out so maybe I just might remember during one of my "laugh-so-hard-so-I-don't-cry-and-crumble-in-to-a-millions-pieces" breakdowns. I think it's gonna be alright.  Mainly because my husband rocks. 

Maybe I should show you some pics now. Yes!  Here is a pic of the Easter Bunny at our mall. Homeboy was HOT!

Do you watch The Apprentice? Well, I do and Sunday they had a challenge where they had to come up with a campaign for Walgreens. You walk and log your progress online and earn points/rewards. I am excited about it. If nothing else, I got a free pedometer out of the deal. Just go to your local Walgreens to pick one up.

I got this email today.

In fact, I also got the email today that stated that Instagram is finally available for Android phones. Instagram and American Girl all in one day! I die. You can follow me if ya want.  Beautyinbloom is my name.  Now I can stop coveting the iPhone. Happy Day!

I had intended to write this post about my Annie and her kindergarten registration that took place today.  I am going to be saving that for another time.  I didn't want my rambling earlier in my post to taint my memories of the sweet time I spent with her today.  She is amazing, that kid.  A special post on that very soon.

Here is a phone dump that I made into a collage. I meant to post this over the weekend.

(Dance recital. Bubbles. My NON-winning mega lottery ticket. Steak n Shake. More bubbles. Target toy department. More bubbles. My favorite treat. Liv's favorite thing to do.)

Thank you for listening.  If for no other reason that now you no I am a big fat mess. And I am ok with that.

 

 

 

A friday phone dump.

I do not have Instagram, sadly. Although, I just researched it a bit and it was announced a few weeks ago that Instagram is coming to Android phones "very soon," so YAY!  I can finally be one of the cool kids who participate in Instagram Friday :)

For now, I use an app called Streamzoo. It's kinda similar to Instagram. At least I think. Anywho, here are some photos that I took this week with my phone. I always have it with me so I take a lot of my photos with it.  People look at you funny when you carry a BIG camera. Especially on your kids field trips. Yes, I am that Mom. HA!

We had to work in the nursery at church on Sunday in Liv's class. She is such a poser!

Pretty much the highlight of our week around here. New trash cans issued by the city. Do you know how many trash cans we have lost to the wind and cars running them over? Too many. I also hope that squirrels will MOVE ON! A girl can dream :)

I purchased this shirt while I was at Hearts at Home. It had owls on it. I mean, it begged for me to buy it. The other two girls are also the proud owners of an "Owl always love Jesus" shirt too.  Serious love.

I am also reading the Hunger Games.  I will not lie, it took me a while to get into it. I put it down a few times.  When I heard there was a movie coming out, I picked it back up. So glad that I did cause I love it. My book club has decided to read it too, so that's a bonus!

Child labor at it's best. For the record, it was empty. Homegirl did it for nothing. Ha!

Waiting for Faith to get off the bus. When it's nice out, we do this everyday. She loves her some faith.

I am going to miss this kid when she goes to Kindergarten in the Fall. BIG time.

 

Another reason to love my husband. Last night while I was helping Faith with a project for school, he cleaned up our closet. I can see the floor! Do you know how long it has been since that has happened? Yeah, me either!

I love it when pineapples are only .99 cents. My kids love it. We are eating Spongebob's house Mom! They crack themselves up!

Annie had a field trip to the bowling alley with her preschool today. It was just her and I.  That is very rare. Usually, we have lil sis with us. Thankfully a friend took Liv for a playdate with her little one. It was special. She needs just mommy sometimes. :)

We went to the Mills for a playdate Thursday. Annie had to have these bunny ears. She informed me that she will be wearing them on Easter. Well alrighty then!

Faith was the only one to volunteer her face tonight at dance. They were practicing how to put the makeup on their faces for the spring recital on Tuesday. It's a CATS theme. That is Molly, one of her best friends. She is spending the night with us tonight, so she had to tagalong.

This is what the girls are doing as I type this. They are making a magazine. I think they are up to 20 pages so far. I hope they sleep tonight!

Oh, and I took this next pic because it's kinda strange. What's with the bear? Are those pasties?! Weird.

Wow. That was long. Can I just say that those were only about 1/4 of the pics that I actually took with my phone this week. Geez. Someday my kids are gonna be annoyed with how many photos I took of them. Or maybe the won't.

Have a great weekend!!!

My heart is at home.

Been layin' kind of low this week. Playing hookie, not cooking dinner, doing laundry, getting ready for my girls weekend at the Hearts at Home  conference.

You know how when people are getting ready to go on vacation and they are totally useless at work the days leading up to it...ya, that would be me. Totally slackin. In fact, its 10pm and I should probably start packing cause we are leaving around 9am.  I did buy a little food for the hubs & kiddos so they wouldn't starve. So that's good. Ha! 

I look forward to this every year. Sometimes there is drama because such a large group of us heads up to Bloomington together. You know how us women can be. Lots of personalities=Lots of different opinions. Sometimes the conflicts start in the planning stages. However, I am(we are) determined to not let that happen this year! This is a christian conference for pete's sake. I pray that we can keep it together. We shall see. :)

Hey Bobby, if you are reading this, I think you are the best hubby ever. Thank you for letting me go and be refreshed so that I can be the best mama to our babies. Thank you for taking 2 days off of work, and thank you for being willing to sit through 2 and a half hours of dance classes with a fiesty toddler in tow. Big points buddy. BIG.

I mentioned that we played hookie this week. After the weekend we had, I decided to keep Faith home on Monday. We slept in and spent some time together just us girls.

Morning stretches. These girls crack me up. They wanted to sit on the front porch because it was so nice.

Then they moved on to dancing. Faith video taping, of course.

Little weirdos. We live on a busy street too. I wonder what the people driving by were thinking.

By the way, they were dancing but there was no music. :)

Later that morning, we went to the grocery store. Faith could not pass up the opportunity to enter the coloring contest they had going on. Liv did her best too.

In the afternoon, there was more front porch hangin'.

We ate some snacks and read some mail while soaking up some vitamin D.

This kid is something else. Just sayin.

Her newest thing is to carry around her purse. Just like her big sisters. I die.

St. Hubby changed the brakes on the van so that we would be safe this weekend. Another reason to love him.

These rascals hung out in the trunk while he cleaned out the van for me. Yet another reason. :)

Get that snake out of my face.

These kids have just about every toy you could think of and they want to sit in a trunk. What's wrong with this picture?

I love my family. BUT, I am still excited to be bookin' it outta here for 3 days!

See ya! Wait, guess I better go pack first.

 

grace.

I woke up today feeling so grateful that it is a new day.

Last night was bad. Just bad. I won't go into great detail because I really do not want to remember it. I want to let it go and start fresh today. Let's just say that I had another motherhood failure. Ironically, I woke up yesterday with the intention of really trying hard to not let the little things bother me. I took extra care....engaging more with the kids, not raising my voice, doing special things with them....etc. And then in one weak moment...it all washed away.  I am just sick over it. Cried myself to sleep and prayed to God for more patience.  I want to let my kids be kids but sometimes enough is enough.  Please tell me it happens to you too? How do you relieve stress? What do you do when your kiddos get you so upset that you just want to yell at them? Cause what I am doing ain't working and losing it just makes me feel worse about myself.

Moving on......

The day was great other than that.

Breakfast. This kid slays me with her cuteness and her insistence on being a big girl. Stop getting bigger please.

We went across the river to meet a friend of a friend to sell them an old desk.

I had her meet me at Barnes and Noble so we could play. It also happened to be story hour. Score!

Some favorite storybook characters.

Of course we had to visit Thomas and friends....she cracks me up.

We went to lunch, stopped by a local boutique to inquire about their rates for vendors and then headed home.

*****{I have to say that I am just in awe of God's grace and the grace that my children freely continue to give me. I don't deserve it. I know it. No one does. I am just going to take it and pray. Pray that I can do better and pray for more patience and perspective. These times are short. I feel it with every passing day. Please God help me not to waste them being stressed and anxious. }****

I am getting ready to go to lunch with my Mom. We are heading to my favorite Mexican restaurant. A great way to start the weekend!

Have a good one!

Yesterday

I know I get looks.

I was the mom at storytime taking photos.  I sure did.

I was the only one.

It back fired though. She would not cooperate. Perhaps she knows I am crazy.  May as well find out sooner rather than later.  It's just this was her first time. Couple that with the fact that I take photos of everything and anything...so there you go....

 Pictures of the girl sort of enjoying storytime.

Above: She listened for about 2.2 seconds.

Below: One of the books. It was an owl theme.

Kind of perfect.

Above: She listened for another 1.5 seconds.

Below: The cute craft. An owl mask.

One thing I learned about myself today is that I am not one of the Moms who enjoys singing songs at Storytime. I still love my kids though. Just not enough to sing in public I guess.

I think it went well. She might be a little young for it. Or maybe she just has a mother who is not patient enough. I will try again though, for her sake. :)

********

We left the library and headed to McD's because it was raining and I also wanted to check out the new playland.  Annie asked if any friends would be there and I told her no, probably not.  That sweet girl said, "That's ok, I will make new friends."

To our surprise, not one but two families were there from our church.  It was a party, and I got to talk to some friends too. Bonus!

It's obvious by the next photo that sister was plain ol' worn out.  We came home and she fell asleep almost instantly. I was thankful too because she has been fighting me with naps lately.

Faith had an Orthodontist appointment at 4:30. She is only 8! This is going to be expensive. I can feel it.

After we saw Dr. Heinz, whom we love I might add, we rushed off to Girl Scouts.

I fell asleep early.

I have been a major homebody lately, so yesterday actually wore me out.  It's not really like me to want to be home all the time. Oh well, it is doing me some good.  I am sure money is being saved and if you have not already heard.....I AM CAUGHT UP ON ALL MY LAUNDRY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS! How sad is it that I celebrate that!?!?!

***while writing this post, my husband called and told me that we need to go visit his beloved Grandmother. Her health is failing rapidly and she just wants to go be with Jesus. Please pray for her and our/Bob's entire family. This woman is a true follower of Christ and someone whom my husband I love dearly. There is NO doubt that she will be missed. I personally am praying for a miracle.***

Times like these make the little moments such BIG moments. That is why I take photos of everything. So I will always remember the details.  I know that it may not matter in the end but I just don't care.  It matters to me.

Eleven

Every month Rebekah over at A bit of sunshine hosts a monthly link up called Ten on Ten. You are supposed to take 10 photos over a period of 10 hours on the 10th of the month. Well, I forgot to take photos on the 10th(this shouldn't surprise you), so I woke upon on      11-11-11 and decided to take eleven photos over eleven hours of our day.

Here is what we did today on one of our country's most important days....Veteran's Day. There are no words that can show the gratitude that our family has for all who have served and sacrificed everything for our beloved country.

Thank you.

Without you my girls and I could not have had a day like this...

8am: Wake up the whole house Olivia!

9am: Snuggling in Mom and Dad's bed

10am: Laundry...my nemesis.

11am: Early bath time..she is trying to pop all the bubbles.

12pm: Heading to the St. Louis Mills mall.

1pm: Lego table at Carter's while Mom shops.

2pm: At the toy store getting ideas for Santa

3pm: Early dinner/late lunch at Panda Express...my girls love the orange chicken!

4pm: Glitter...a jewelry store where everything costs $1

5pm'ish: Pic with Mickey Mouse before leaving to head to dance class.

6pm: Dance class. Kinda tired at this point. Looking forward to bedtime.

There you have it 11 photos on 11-11-11. All of the photos were taken with my cellphone using an App that is supposed to be like Instagr.am. I however, am not cool enough to have an iPhone, so I have to settle for this second rate Android App. Just so you know, I am greatful to even know what an App is, let alone have any on my phone.

Life is good.

This weekend, we will be soaking up every minute with my sweet husband. He worked a 16 hour day today, and tomorrow will look kind of like today. I plan on making the most of the time we have together! Saturday afternoon will hold 2 birthday parties for the girls and I.  After church on Sunday, Bob's parents will be hosting an early Thanksgiving dinner in an effort to take the pressure off of all their children. At least, I think that is why they do it that way. We will consume 2-3 Thanksgiving meals before this holiday is over because of the size of both sides of our families. I am greatful, but my ever growing wasteline might not be.

I hope your weekend is everything you want it to be.

Catching up over coffee.

Let's talk. But NOT about the fact that I am drinking a $5.00 coffee. Bob, if you are reading this...I love you and don't be mad ;) Sometimes I just break down and buy one, and by sometimes I mean at least once a week...and on occasion, more than once a week. I know. It's a waste of money. It is just not the same when I try to make one at home with my cheap coffee maker. It's not.

Looks like I am talking about my $5.00 coffee more than I had intended.

I bring this up not to shame myself by telling you that I sometimes waste money on coffee, but to tell you why.

It makes me happy.

I can not explain it. I used to hate coffee. When I am having a bad morning or having a poor me whine fest, I stop at Panera and get one. Lately, I have been in quite a funk.  I have no particular reason really. I hesitate to even admit this on my blog because this space is supposed to be my happy place where I talk about my sweet girls and hubby and share projects that I have made.

I don't want to feel this way.

Yesterday, I avoided my beloved MOPS meeting because I just didn't want to be around anyone. This is not like me. I love being around friends. Being around people energizes me. Being alone, for the most part, does not. I know that this is just a short phase and will soon be a distant memory. It is not the first time since becoming a wife and mommy that I have felt this way, and I know it won't be the last. In times like these I cling to the Lord. I can do all things with Him. I don't know how people live without Him in their hearts. Truly. How did I get through the hard times before the precious gift of salvation?

Don't worry about me cause I will be fine. I know that I have all I need because I have Christ and my beautiful family. I know this in my heart, I just wish my head would keep up. I can't help but get caught up in the things of this world. Why don't we have more money? Why don't we get to take vacations? Why can't I be thin? She seems to have it all together...why don't I? My poor sweet husband works too hard. Everyday seems to be the same. I have dreams too.

You get it.

I am right where He wants me to be. I feel it everytime my sweet daughters hug me and tell me that I am the best mommy ever. I feel guilty, but I also feel so greatful. When I take a step back, I can see it. I can see just. how. lucky. I. am.

Thank you for listening.

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Now it's time for the catch up part of this blog post. Enough of the serious junk.

Here is what we have been up to in the last 10 days or so....

I thought their pumpkins represented them perfectly. Annie is sneaky like a cat. Olivia is mean, and Faith is goofy.

My sweet Snow White. This is Miss Faith at her Halloween parade at school.

This was Annie's first time ice skating. Her friend Audrey had a birthday party at the ice rink. She loved it!

 
We had what hopefully was not our last bonfire of the year.

The girls like to mess with their baby sister. I adore this photo. So proud to be their Momma!

This is what I worked on til Midnight last night. I had a helper until around 10. Can't wait to show you the finished product.

This is the current state of my kitchen. Girl Scout cookies! I will be digging my way out of these this week trying to get them all delivered. Faith did great this year. She sold the most cookies in her troop. Thanks to her Daddy for peddling them at both of his jobs :)

That pretty much sums it up. I am breaking out of this funk slowly and hate to say that I think its because I have been listening to all Christmas music the past 3 days.

Don't hate. Try it and tell me that it doesn't lift your spirits. You won't be able to.

I am bringing back my favorite Paris Hilton quote....you know the one from that show she was on where her and what's her name lived on that farm....."LOVES IT!"

That last sentence was for you Kellie Romano. Hehe!

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