THIS Is Summer

This is Summer when you are 8-years old.

Just roller skatin' around the 'hood in your bathing suit like it's no big deal. 

Because it's not when you are eight.
Stopping for a popsicle on the front porch, using the broom to help slow you down when
you're going down the hill, dodging your brother's Nerf gun bullets. 

Sigh. 

Hope you're enjoying these Summer days, too.

Thursday Snapshot :: Siblings

Last night on the way home from taking one of the kid's friends home. 

We passed by a small nature preserve area and the light was just perfect so I told the kids we were stopping really quick. Oh, the lighting. The Magic Hour. MY MOST favorite time of day.

She was being cooperative, he wasn't being super cooperative. 

But still, I love this picture. 

It's a typical brother + sister picture. 

He is stretching her braids out to see how long they are, she is letting him.

For a moment anyway. 

But you know, then it was; "You're pulling my hair"... "Stop...."

So we got back in the car and took the long way home.

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What Will They Remember?

I wonder if you ever do this...?
Sometimes I wonder what my kids will remember most about their childhood, one day in the future when they are older, much older- adults or maybe even parents themselves.
When the time comes, I wonder how they would answer these questions;

"When I was a kid we used to __________"
"When I was I kid I loved it when we got to ____________"
"One of my favorite childhood memories is ______________"

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You never know what they will remember most, what it will be... and I am pretty sure it won't be any of the the things I imagine it would be.

A couple of weeks ago we were watching a movie on a Friday night and we made chocolate milkshakes for the kids, in the fancy(or not so fancy, but not the regular old every day ones)glasses.
As I was getting the "fancy glasses" out of the china cabinet, I was reminded how my mom used to make us Coke floats on the weekends when we were kids and we used these certain glasses that we only ever used when we had Coke floats.
They were kept in a different cabinet than the usual dishes.
I still remember what they looked like and that the cabinet was one that slid open and it always kind of got caught and you had to close it and reopen it again before you could get your glass out.
My memory is not fantastic but I definitely remember that, it's a favorite for sure.

So you had better believe that the following Friday night while the kids were watching the original Karate Kid I made them Coke floats.
I said it was just like a Friday night in 1984.
And it may not ever be one of their favorite memories, even if I kinda hope it is, but it will always be one of my favorites as a mom.

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Do you know how you would answer those questions? Could you answer right away or would you need to think about it?

Most Unique Halloween Costume /// Laura Ingalls Wilder

So I think I have shared plenty of Halloween pictures on Instagram and I know in our minds Halloween is long gone, but
I had to share a couple more plus Charlotte's super exciting news.
My kid's school still celebrates Halloween when it seems like most don't anymore and let me
just say, that I  L  O  V  E  that.  Like a lot.
This year they had a short musical program for 2'nd, 3rd and 4th grades(so both of my kids were in it) and then they have
the Halloween costume parade.
Usually the parade is outside and the kids walk around the block in the neighborhood and everyone gets to see them, it's a
long-standing school/neighborhood tradition.
This year the weather wasn't great, a little chilly and windy, so it was in the gym instead.

After the parade they have parties in the classrooms and then the costume judging.
I think the teachers and/or staff do the judging and then call the winners over the intercom.
I left right before the end of the day and missed that part and had kind of forgot about it although I don't think Charlotte had.

Here is Charlotte as Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I think this is my favorite costume so far, I just think it is so cute + just perfect for her.
My mom made the dress and apron, Charlotte gpt to pick the fabric herself, which was quite the chore, she knew exactly
what she wanted and was not really taking our suggestions at all.
That girl has her own opinions on everything. 
But in the end it turned out great and she was VERY happy with her dress.

The bonnet we borrowed from my cousin which was exactly what we were looking for and
really completed the whole costume I think.
I have had that vintage lunch pail laying around here for years and we grabbed some old books and tied them together
for her to carry.
Obviously she already has the hairdo down to be Laura, right?

A couple different people asked if the costume was mine from when I was a kid, but it wasn't.
This costume was all Charlotte's idea.
We  certainly love the Little House books and the show in this hosue and I love that this is what she
wanted to be, just perfect for my little reader + book lover.

{nevermind the chocolate on her apron from the school party ;) }

After school I was sitting on the porch watching for the kids to come up the street and saw Charlotte
runing as fast as she could to the house.
She won the costume contest for most unique costume, she was so excited!
I was excited for her too,  just thinking how that would've felt in 2nd grade, to win in that category for the whole school, to have
your name called over the intercom and to win a prize.
It was a good day and a great Halloween indeed.


Have a great day everyone !

Miss Charlotte Is Eight

Oh, my heart.

My baby girl turned eight years old yesterday.
Eight feels like a big number... but not as big as ten felt last week.
I love 8 though...  I can honestly say that.
It's funny because I hate the fact that they even have to get older in the first place, because it's just dumb,
but then again I love seeing the people they are growing into at the same time.
I love who they were, who they are right at this moment, and who they are growing into.
Something I don't think I quite "got" completely when I first became a parent, is that it truly is a gift to get to do so -
and by that I mean every stage, every issue, every rough time, every time you feel like you are failing as a parent--
all of it.
This is a gift.

Oh, but this girl.
This girl is a writer, a storyteller already at such a young age.
She is an animal lover with a funny sense of humor.
She is a little girl that is wise beyond her years that loves to draw.
And paint.
She is brave and loves adventures.
She likes trying new things and will often encourage her brother when he is unsure.
She will say things like; "I wish mommy was here to see this sunset..."
She writes me letters and tells me what a great mommy I am.

She loves school and her family and walks around with a book in her hand most of the time.
She always has a new favorite doll or stuffed animal and she hopes to go to Paris one day.
She loves "cute things" and is a tomboy at the same time.
She loves reading about The Titanic and American history.

I love this sweet + funny little girl of mine so much.
Charlotte is named after my grandma, Elizabeth Charlotte.
They never got to meet but oh,  this little girl of mine inherited not only a name but some of my grandma's sweetness as well, I just
know in my heart she did.
I am so very lucky to have her and her brother in my life.


Happy 8th Birthday, Miss Charlotte Rose.

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Coffee + Hot Chocolate Date

Last weekend Charlotte and I were able to sneak away for a few hours for a coffee and hot chocolate date, just the two of us.
We stopped at Starbucks first for hot chocolate and my drink of choice(cinnamon dolce latte, nonfat milk) and three teenagers sat next to us.
Charlotte kept looking all crazy at them, she rolled her eyes to me once about the way they were talking and what they were saying.
At one point she came around the table and whispered in my ear, saying:  "Why are they so dramatic, Mommy? That's ridiculous."

It was funny to watch her watch them and later when we left I told her she would probably be acting that way one day, too.
She looked horrified and said; "Did you?"
I had to admit that... Yep, I probably did, too.

After coffee we decided to go to a used book store that we hadn't been to in a long time.
We have a couple of small independent book stores in town, but the closest Barnes & Noble-type book store, which Charlotte declared a
couple of years ago to be her  "Happy Place",  is about a half and hour + away.
We looked around the book store and Charlotte picked out an American Girl book.
Next we stopped at Target, looked around a little and headed home, Charlotte read her new book the whole way home.

Sometimes it's hard to remember to do these little dates, just one on one, or to find the time to squeeze them in.
I know the more kids you have the harder it is, but I am always so happy when we do find the time to do it... it can definitely be done.
We have already decided that next time we will have to go on a Saturday so we can go paint pottery together.
But first, Wyatt and I will have to have our date... Wonder what he will choose to do??

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Hope you had a great weekend... tomorrow is Monday already.
Sigh.
But it is a short week for us,  4-day weekend and the kids and I are headed to  C   H   I   C   A   G  O on Friday.
Hoooray!

And Just Like That.... Seven.

My girl turned seven today.

SEVEN.

My little Friday the 13th baby, born in the wonderful month of October just like her big brother...

Seven years old.

I sware she even look solder today but I am blaming that mostly on her little button-up shirt I'm not used to seeing her in...

 I think it makes her look older. Yeah, that's it. 

Just like I talked about last week in my post about Wyatt's 9th Birthday, last night after their Birthday party

 I was thinking all about my pregnancy with Charlotte and the day she was born.

That's just what you do on their Birthdays, right??

Since I wasn't blogging when I had them, or even when they were much younger,  I don't think 

I have ever really shared much about when they were born.

I want to share my story about how the road to getting pregnant the second time around was a bit 

of a surprise and nothing like the first time... but not in this post tonight.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

We did not find out either time the sex of the baby, it was so hard the second time around.

Harder.

We were excited to have another baby born in October- after the initial shock wore off that is.

I love October, I love Fall.

My parents Birthdays are both in October.

I went in for my 38-week check up with Charlotte, on Friday the 13th, in October of all months, 

and found out after the internal exam that Charlotte was breech.

I was devastated. Scared. Worried.

My doctor would not attempt to try and turn the baby or let me deliver naturally, so I found

 out right then and there, with Eric an hour away at work, that I had to have a c-section.

Soon, very soon.

If you read my post about having Wyatt, you know that I was at the hospital for maybe 45 minutes TOPS before he was born. 
I was really hoping this time would be kinda the same. It was exactly the opposite.

Having a c-section with a little boy at home that just turned 2 ten short days ago?

It didn't sound like fun.

In hindsight everything was fine, it is what had to happen and I had a healthy baby girl.

It was still scary... the not knowing...  the worry.

I wasn't allowed to go to my car or leave the hospital... I really wanted to run home and throw a few more

 things in my hospital bag that wasn't all the way packed.

I called Eric and my mom and my cousin bawling from the hallway of the doctor's office.

I was taken by wheel chair next door to the hospital,  they hooked me up and started prepping me for surgery. I was by myself.

I asked the doctor what would happen if I went in to labor before they could do the c/s and

she told me I was dilated to 4 and already IN labor. Oh. Okay.

I would have been taken in immediately had I not just ate breakfast before my appointment.

Ooops.They explained that if labor progressed they may have to put me all the way out for an emergency c/s.

I did not want that to happen and luckily it didn't.

Eric got there and my labor started progressing to where I was in quite a bit of pain.

Let me tell you something.

If you know you are about to have a c-section anyway, you do not want pain.

NONE. No Pain. There is no point.

I had Wyatt naturally,  but this time I was not about to deal with labor pain and a c/s.

I was taken in to surgery and the whole c/s was just weird and it really freaked me out but it went good.

And it was a girl.

A GIRL.

We had decided for sure on Charlotte for a first name, but her being a little early and not knowing the sex, we hadn't yet finalized the middle name.

Charlotte is named after my grandma, Elizabeth Charlotte Jesse.

I kind of liked Charlotte Elizabeth best but Eric like Charlotte Rose.

Before they took me to recovery we hadn't decided so I told Eric to choose whatever.

 Later when I was in recovery they brought down Polaroids of her with " Charlotte Rose" written on the bottom... 

It was perfect. It just sounded so good together.

When I was being prepped for surgery pretty much every nurse/person asked what sex 

the baby was going to be and I would have to say that we didn't know.

The Friday the 13th jokes began.. where you going to name it Michael Myers if it was a boy?

Or what about Jason?

Jason was from the Halloween movies but I think people were mixing that up with Friday the 13th.

When my doctor sent me in for an ultrasound after my internal exam and then had to tell me
 the baby was breech and I needed a c/s,  I have to admit that the whole 

Friday the 13th thing freaked me out... just a bit.

Only because if I had any luck, it was never really GOOD LUCK... 

and surely my luck wasn't going to turn now... Right?

When I told her that Friday the 13th wasn't supposed to be a lucky day she said 

something along the lines of;  Well, it is now.

And it was.

And it is my lucky day.

And Charlotte's.

And yes... the whole blog name thing... that's where it came from.

I love this girl beyond words.
With her crooked smile and missing teeth.
She is sweet and funny, she is a tomboy that loves dolls and all things "cute".
She loves books and school and baby animals.
She loves her brother and her family and she makes us laugh all the time with
 her silly, goofy personality.
She's just a little girl, that acts like a little girl.. 
And this little girl was the best surprise we could have ever asked for.
Ever.

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Happy 7th Birthday Charlotte Rose.

This Is Summer.

I love this picture.

It's not a perfect picture and that might be why I love it so much.

This right here is Summertime to me, not a "perfect" idea of what Summer looks like,

but a real snapshot of a little moment in a Summer day in our life right now.

Popsicles, siblings, front porch, cut-offs, barefoot.

Love.

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Hey there, Monday.

So.....
Somehow it is Monday already.
WHY oh why do the weekends go so fast?
The weekends, where I have back up, an extra referee, someone else to do a bit of the discipline, to do the question answering,
a cook, a partner.... sigh. Why can't the weekends be a bit longer?
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Friday was Wyatt's last day of his two-week Camp.
I wondered maybe if him being at Camp all day it might get a little boring for Charlotte but it ended up being a good two weeks.
I think she really enjoyed the solo time and I know the break away from each other was good for them- and ME, let's be honest here.

One morning last week after dropping Wyatt off, Charlotte and I stopped at one of our 

favorite spots, a little Oriental Rock Garden, to play.

It was so early that we were the only ones there and it was a beautiful morning-- empty park, 

not hot yet at all.  Just perfect.

I was so glad I grabbed my Nikon on the way out the door.

My girl "took pictures", climbed rocks and looked for snails under rocks.
In her new sandals and white dress. Ha!

When she gets outside like this she just knows what to do.

She is an explorer and a little nature lover and I hope she is always like that.

I love this morning light, it was the perfect time to be out.
I read somewhere that the best time for photos in the morning is about 1 1/2 hours after sunrise, now this was nowhere near that...
probably about 3 hours after sunrise because it was probably around 8:30 am.
I'm thinking that this Summer I am going to get the kids up early and go do morning pictures of them.

Looking at these pictures makes me realize I need some 1:1 time with my boy now.
It's usually Charlotte and I but I need to carve out a day/time this summer for just Wyatt and I, it's hard to do,
 to arrange childcare and stuff but I think it's so important.

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So... what is your week looking like?... and what do you have going on today?
Happy Monday, hope it's a good one.

A Portrait A Week

Charlotte :: Saturday at the Cabin, picking daffodils and checking to see if the bluebells were close to blooming yet.
One braid in, one braid out, pretty filthy from head to toe. That's my girl.

Wyatt :: Definitely a lot harder to get a photo of on Saturday. He was busy in the woods, helping my aunt dig a hole and
shooting his bow and arrow. Also, about half the photos of him I get are no good because his eyes are closed. Ugh.
This boy has had the sweetest little lips since the day he was born.

Linking up here today... go check out many more lovely portraits over at Che & Fidel... you won't be disappointed, she has a beautiful blog. Happy Sunday, hope you have a wonderful day!

Simple Things :: Kindergarten Style

Polka dots, raccoon + squirrel knee socks and black Mary Janes.
How could you not love this outfit?
There is nothin' quite like a 6-year old with style.
Hope you have a great Sunday.

Under The Tree

My little book lover.
I am starting to get excited for her to learn to read soon.
She has always loved books, I mean really loved books but has not shown any interest in actually learning to read until lately.
Although I really think had she been interested she could have learned a long time ago,
I have learned to not try to make them learn something until they are ready or initiate it--
much better that way.
So it's perfect timing that she is about to start school and is so ready to learn.
That is one of the positive things I am trying to focus on, how much she will learn and how much
I think she is going to LOVE school.
Fingers crossed.

Do you see my fence?
My fence is FINISHED, y'all.
I am so in love. I like to walk back there and just stare at it.
The last thing he has to do is put the gate on, which should be done this weekend.
Living the dream over here, we are.
It doesn't take anything fancy to make this mama happy.
>>>>>>>>>



I updated the shop yesterday.
I started making bracelets on Sunday and couldn't stop!
More to be added next week.
One more thing--
we are going out of town for a few days and surprising the kids by taking them to a water park
for the first time.
One last Hurrah before school starts.
Yikes.
I'm not really a water park person, I must admit.
Or a Chuck E. Cheese person, which is why my poor deprived kids have never been.
Keep me in your thoughts :)

Happy Tuesday, everybody. Have a great day!