these three.  they've got something so special and sweet.  i've said it a few times and thought it a million: parker is so lucky to have them as his big brother and sister.  they always give him the time if he walks to them and plops a book on their lap.  they scoot him around the first floor in a laundry basket, on one of his little bicycles.  if i'm racing around the house before heading out the door, no questions asked, william will have gotten parker all ready... jacket, shoes, hat.  when they get off the bus and parker is standing at the front door, huge smile across his face, they greet him with such excitement, a hug, a kiss.  william and lindsey may not always get along so beautifully with each other (we're working on it!!), but they sure do love on their little brother.  that is, until parker starts getting into william's legos...

i'm just really grateful for the sweetness they share.

so, i've been checking in on megan's wedding deets on her blog and got to thinking what i would do if i had a do-over.  naturally!  and let's just get this part over with: blah, blah, blaaaahhhh... the day is really about me and steve and uniting in holy matrimony and that's what really counts and who cares about the shoes and the time of year and blah blah blah.  ok, good.  now!  onto the fun stuff!

i got married almost six years ago.  which is crazy.  i was a baby!  and now i have one!  anyway... it was before the birth of pinterest (dammit!) and all those amaaaaazing wedding blogs and engagement shots and save-the-dates (i'm preeeetty sure no one did save-the-dates.)  but, gosh!  don't i wish i had engagement shots.  i mean, what reason do steve and i have now to just get gussied up, be all vain, leave the kids to their own devices cause... mom and dad want some pictures of just the two of them?    and, i can't think of a picture in the last year that's good of steve and i.  that wasn't taken with an iphone by a kid much shorter than us so that the pic is sort of heading straight up our nostrils?

anyway, creativity was at a minimum.  you all scour the pages of pinterest these days?  green wedding shoes?  style me pretty?  i was scouring the $1 bins of a.c. moore.  ooh!  a pinecone!  let's glitter it for this christmas wedding!  kidding, but only sort of.

(i'm sure there's good evidence of weddings that took place before six years ago that are still incredibly amazing and creative.  but, those are few, right??  for the sake of this blog post, RIGHT.)

so, the do-over!  indulge me.  here's what i'd do:

i'd have done engagement shots.

i'd have worn fun shoes.  i wore those dye-to-match-your-dress shoes that are currently in the bin to go to salvation army. worn that day and that day only.  these days... red satin peep toes with crystal detail!  mustard yellow this and that!  ladies!  you and your shoes!  making me so jeal!

i'd maaaaybe have worn my hair down.

i thiiiink i'd have picked a different dress.  that almost feels wrong to say.  i love my dress, but still, i think i'd have picked a different one.  (and spent less on it.)

i'd have invited fewer people and saved that money.  (selfish?)

i'd have had it at a different time of year and probably a different place too.

i'd even consider eloping.  with just my immediate family.  the caribbean.  (we came this close to actually doing that.)

alright, now, be selfish with me for a moment and tell me what your do-over would look like.  even if it goes something like this: DIFFERENT GROOM.  wait, what?

a gift guide for the baby.

well, it's that time.  gift-giving and gift-receiving and christmas this and christmas that.  so, here's the first of a few favorite things posts to come this holiday season.  hope you enjoy!  

(and please add your own gift-givings this year.  

i am often stumped as to what to buy--especially for a teenage boy!!)

 1: taxi cab knit rattle / 2: putumayo world lullabies cd (i love all the putumayo cds!  they're great.) / 3: american apparel cardigan (parker has one of these and he wears it all the time) / 4: land of nod work bench (and everything they sell.  plus, 15% off today.) / 5: eat your veggies print (subtle brainwashing disguised as nursery art!) / 6: essential oils scented play dough / 7: baby's first christmas handmade ornament / 8: a knit mini blanket (in the lushest of colors.  i love these.) / 9: tiny toms (parker has 'em -- easy to put on!) / 10: blackboard and chalk set

i'm what you'd call a sporadic anthropologie-peruser and an even more sporadic anthropologie-purchaser.  it's not that i don't love their stuff.  quite the contrary.  i love everything so much that it speaks to me.  if money were no object, i'd outfit myself and my home in everything by them.  yeah, me and every other girl today.  but, that's not the point!  anyway, it's best for my marriage and my pocketbook (do we call them pocketbooks anymore?) that i stay away.  so, i do.  for the most part.  but when doing my sporadic perusing the other day, i saw these mason jar snow globes and was like, "um, please anthro.  PLEASE.  SPARE ME.  i can do that.  and for like twenty four dolla less."

and so i did.

(also, if i had a dollar for every time i saw someone link to anthro's things and then make a diy of it, i'd be a rich person (who could shop at anthro more often!).  and this begs the question, is anthro pissed about this??)

what you'll need:

a mason jar

some bottle brush trees

a hot glue gun

sugar

(and various adornments if you so choose!)

{all can be found at your friendly a.c. moore!}

now, here's the thing.  i did this project with lindsey (thank goodness for a girl in the house!).  i knew she'd be into more "stuff" in her globe, so i got reindeer and mini string lights.  you can find that and tons of other mini kitschy things (like dollhouse mini) in this one section of ac moore.  mini gifts, mini garlands, mini stars to top the tree.  you could go all out if you want.  but, honestly, the one above was my fave when all was said and done.  so i guess i'm in the less is more camp.  though, i did add silver glitter to the sugar-snow so maybe i'm more glam then i think?

now, do we really need directions??  glue your stuff to jar lid!  add sugar to the jar!  put lid in upside down, screw on, and tip over.  voila!  you've got yourself a mason jar snow globe.  and for like $4!

sorry anthropologie.  

if i figure out how to make your clothes, now that'll really be something.

but, since i can't even sew on a button, this'll have to do.

also.... the happiest of thanksgiving to you!!!  

and a good opportunity to share one of my favorite quotes:

it is not happy people who are thankful.  

it is thankful people who are happy.

enjoy the holiday!

Parker loves to be a free man.  The more room to wander, the happier he is.  When he nurses, while we sleep, when I wear him, those are our chances to just be still, to reconnect, to hold him like he's still the little person I had July of 2011 (but he always will be, won't he?).  But I love watching him go, too.  It's as though you can literally see the baby shedding right off of him in layers as he picks up speed, opens his toothy (ten teeth now!) smile, and runs.  How I wish I could put those layers back on sometimes.  But this age, well, it's such a fun one too.  

(And hooold up.  Would you just look at his face in the second picture?!)

When the weather isn't so nice, it's hard for this boy to get his chance to roam.  He needs it.  And, since 'tis the season for well, shopping, I let him stretch his legs at the mall.  He had the hugest smile on his face the entire time.  I foresee many a mall trip in the dead of winter.  

The escalator.  That was a new discovery and a fun one to be sure.  Stairs!  That move!?  He was delighted.  We took it a few times with him secured to me snugly in the sling.  And then, he got to discover it on his own, two feet planted firmly.  Each day brings something new for Parker.  What a world it is for a baby.  

I wear Parker in the Essential Linen Sling in Driftwood/Mint.

This is my second entry in the Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries.

today!  a double giveaway!  with two winners!

these two shops are absolute gems.  i own items from both and they're some of my favorites.  earrings from ike & co. (here!)... stationary from scribble pad (here!)... they get a lot of use.  you probably want some of that goodness too, right?!  

(some of my faves from each shop!)

enter to win:

a $25 credit to scribble pad + $25 credit to ike & co.

($50 in credits!)

also--use code FREESHIPGIFT for 

free shipping at scribble pad!

and!  ike & co. is having a huge sale right now.

stock up for christmas!

(each shop owner is giving away TWO credits... 

so two winners will receive a credit to both!)

to enter:

{u.s. addresses only!}

+ leave a comment below and include email!

additional entries:

{separate comments!}

+ tell me what you'd pick from each!

+ favorite each shop on etsy

+ tweet about the giveaway and provide URL

giveaway closed.

julia stafford + kate chapman are the two winners, congrats!

this is the end of what has felt like the busiest week in a long while, and i am hoping to be in bed by 8 pm tonight, with a cup of tea and maybe a book.  party hard!  anyway, before i retreat for the weekend, i wanted to share a few things!  first, i changed up the christmas giveaway (namely, it doesn't cost anything to give away!) a bit and i've had a bunch of awesome shops sign up... it'll be good.  there's still time to enter so email me if you're interested!  (and for those who've emailed and haven't heard yet, i will be replying!)  

then, i'm gonna start favorite things next week.  that's always a fun one for me to put together--and hopefully for you to check out too.  in the past, i've done one thing every day from dec. 1 to christmas but really what sense does that make when a lot of christmas shopping is done sooner than that?  so!  a little different this year.  

and finally, do you have christmas cards yet?  cause danielle's are beautiful and totally one of a kind.  also, she's the nicest, so there's that too.

have a great weekend everyone!

volume 4.

colloidal silver!

so, it is time to share what i believe to be a serious powerhouse of a disease-kicker, cold-buster, flu-fighter... introducing colloidal silver, folks.  i have been a serious believer in the stuff for about ten years now.  i've never taken it 7 days a week, 365 days a year, but i have taken it (and DO take it) during the germiest seasons, or when i'm feeling run down.  now, here's the scoop on silver before you go shouting from the rooftops: "but the blue man on oprah!"  

colloidal silver is a natural antibiotic and antiseptic that can be used both orally and topically (you can find it in eye dropper form and a spray).  specifically, it's a solution that tastes very much like water (because it starts as water), but that has added silver ions in it, measured in parts per million (ppm).  studies have shown that it is remarkably effective at killing microbes--even those resistant to antibiotics such as MRSA.  the claims of people turning blue are first... few and far between.  i can think of the blue man.  and that's it.  plus, he drank a cup a day.  um, that's a lot, blue man (and, the scientific term for that is not actually "blue man!"  it's argyria.  and it ain't pretty.).  and second, any sort of negative effect caused by silver would most likely be caused by a home-brew (you can make your own, though i wouldn't suggest doing so unless you really know what you're doing).  the one i buy is here and is 10 ppm.  here is their actual website.  bottom line--i have done my research and trust this brand.  i give it to the kids (and even parker) when a cold is going through the house.  like half an eyedropper full.  i've put it in both william's and lindsey's eyes when they got pink eye (no sting) and it was gone the next day.  they take it, easy as can be, because it basically it's like water with a slight metallic taste.

why do i believe it works?  certainly, my wellness can be chalked up to other factors, BUT... there are times when i was sure i was gonna catch something.  i.e. finals week in college--so little sleep, so little nutritious food, so many people sniffin' around me... i took about a tablespoon a day and was footloose and fancy-free.  and historically, silver has always proven beneficial (think way back: people who ate off of silver plates and with silver utensils... less apt to get diseases.  crazy but true!  again, other factors could be at play here too...).  oh!  and topically... it can be used for burns, and rashes, and (apparently!) even ear infections.  i haven't done as much topical use as oral use.  anyone chime in if you've got more info!

one more thing.  at the toddler-class i bring parker to, before snack time they pass around these clothsslightly dampened, for the kids to wash their hands.  they're laced with silver fibers so bacteria can't live on them.  seriously!  i'm totally into them.

so, colloidal silver.  i stand behind it.

(p.s. please, please, please... as always do your own research and don't take what i'm saying at face value.  you'll probably find a lot of people knockin' colloidal silver as well as a lot of people supporting it.  isn't that the way of so much natural medicine?  and here's a listing of bookspertaining to colloidal silver.  i haven't read any of them so i can't speak personally, but some of them look pretty interesting.)

and, again, my spiel on "i am not a doctor!"  (will i ever feel like i don't have to link to that in this series!?  probably not.  read it!)

and, one more thing (gosh this is becoming one lengthy post of add-ons)... thank you SO much for your birthday wishes yesterday.  you guys are awesome.  each one of ya!  

today is my birthday!

happy birthday to me!

have a great day and i'll be back tomorrow!

xo

p.s. lame post, i know.  

but, it's my day and i do what i want!

{picture}

parker man!  i call you that and it's becoming truer every day.  you're not so baby, you're a little more man.  you walk and walk fast, you even tried to run to catch up with some big kids recently (both adorable and heartbreaking all at once!) but you fell a few times--soft ground, no injuries!  you slept nearly through the night a couple weeks ago (you read my post, didn't you?).  a lot of babies get to this point faster than you are (hear that, p-man?!), but i'm celebrating it anyway.  once you came in bed, you nursed a little and then went back to sleep with your arm around my neck and head tucked in the crook of my arm.  i laid awake for a bit thinking how gosh darn sweet it was and how i'd like to bottle it up and keep it forever.

we joined a class and damn is it cute watching you run around and discover the place.  you do "art" projects, sing songs, play with toys, do bubbles, have snack time.  it's an hour, built for you!  you love it.  you go all around the room discovering things, but every so often come back to where i am with your arms stretched totally open for a hug.  then, you run off again.  god, i love you!

you say "dada" all the time now which, duh, melts his heart.  and it's a good thing because you've become a bit of a mama's boy which can get the poor 'ol dad down a bit.  you make all sorts of animal sounds too.  you love books, cars, books about cars, and dancing.  you love cheesy scrambled eggs, plain yogurt with blueberries, apples, pears, bananas, hummus, black beans, and veggies out of a stew or soup.  oh, and the annie's bunnies they serve at snack time in class.  you love putting shoes away in the bin (and sometimes taking them out of the bin), and generally making messes.  i'm always surprised at how much you know and understand, even though your words are pretty limited.  it's really so cool.

my favorite thing these days?  probably when you're across the room, spot me, and just start heading towards me with your head tilted back, and arms stretched forward.  it's for a hug and it pretty much kills me.  sometimes i miss tiny you, but big you is so fun too.

you and me, parker.  we're buds.  love you forever.

i'm wearing (and loving) the whistlestop dress from the new shabby apple all aboard line.  it truly is one of those dresses that you can wear nearly all the time.  with tights, without tights, summer, fall, winter, and spring.  it might be my favorite shabby apple giveaway yet.  black and white stripes will always win with me.  always!  you and me, classic stripes!  we stick together.

the whole all aboard line is beautiful and classic.  oh shabby apple, you are good at that!

enter to win: 

an item of your choosing from the all aboard line!

to enter:

{u.s. addresses only!}

+ leave a comment below and include your email.

additional entries:

{separate comment for each!}

+ tell me which one you'll pick!

+ like shabby apple's facebook page 

+ spread the word in some form (instagram, blog, tweet!) 

and tell me how you did it!

and that is all!

giveaway closed.

emily is the winner, congrats!

1. this stuff.  don't even.  i mean.  i can't.  it's so good.  steve jokes that he should put it in a trough for me when i eat it.  i say WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, STEVE?  no, but really.  trader joes has done it again and it's dangerous.  with their classic potato chip?  well, 9 pm at the hunts has never been so fun.

2. we're reading this book in book club--one of my mom's favorites--and so far, i'm totally liking it.  any of you read it?  it's fiction, but based on a seriously interesting bit of history. 

3. i love, as you already know, stews and soups and chilis.  do you have any i should know about?  in other words GIVE THEM TO ME NOW.  also, i made the most amazing white chili the other night and i will share the recipe soooooon.

4. i went through a major brian andreas phase in college.  do any of you love him too?  i used to go to his 'pick a quote for me' page, almost daily, and read through them.  i love his stuff.

5. i feel like i should begin christmas shopping, but i'm not sure where to start.  sometimes i don't think we need more stuff and other times i'm all, "it's christmas!  let's swim in presents!"  and, as always, i'm totally stumped as to what to get for steve.  what do you guys get your husbands/significant others????  please help.

6. normally i have already started addressing my christmas cards by now.  this year?  don't even have a family photo.  need to get on that!  it's practically keeping me up at night!

7. enough about christmas and enough of this list.  have a good weekend!!  and oh!  i think i'm gonna try my hand at these tomorrow morning!

snow stoppers mittens(they go all the way up the arm so they stay on!  hurrah!  ps - i got parker a size small and they have some room!) | snow boot(bought these on a big discount on zulily!) | long underwear | puffy coat | hat and mitten set | striped sweater (only $10!) | onesies (underneath nearly everything, of course) | fleece footie pajamas(i grabbed a few at costco!  for like $7!)

i'm pretty keen on a warm baby.  not too cold, not too hot... but erring on the side of hot if i had to choose.  (but i don't have to choose!  so alas, parker, you can just be warm!)  i blame this on my mom.  growing up it was always: "don't catch a chill!  keep your neck warm!  put your hat on!"  it is ingrained in me that a cold head means a head cold.  or, pretty darn close.  so you can imagine that upon raising a baby (who will not be dwelling snugly in a baby carrier as he was last year) in the great, and often cold, state of massachusetts, i'd need to have a few tricks up my sleeve.  above are some of the things we've actually acquired (sans the striped sweater and the hat/mitten set) recently as the temperatures have dropped here.  it's pretty near impossible to go a day without bringing the little dude outside for some fresh air, so the snug things were a definite necessity.

now please!  you more well-seasoned cold-weather veterans!  tell me your tricks.  is it even feasible to take parker on a two-hour-plus sledding trip this winter?  do babies learn to keep mittens on?  and warm weather socks for babies?  what are your picks?  so basically, am i fooling myself that my various pieces will make a difference?!

(this recent post got me thinking about this stuff!)

She's been growing up, a slow process, at times more jarring than others.  And lately, it feels jarring. It's moving fast, too fast.  Slow down!  She recently pulled a book off her bookshelf--something from the American Girl Club series--and it had everything from hair care, to shaving, to periods.  "When will I get my period?" she asks as we're driving along.  The questions don't stop there.  "Mom, can I start shaving?"  I assure her, she'll have the rest of her life to be doing these things.  And they quickly lose their luster (if they had any to begin with).  Still, the allure of wearing a bra and lipstick is no match for my assurance that the time will come so be patient.

I bought her Taylor Swift's newest CD the other day.  She's a huge Taylor fan, and I knew she'd love it.  She ripped it open as soon as I gave it to her, and spent the greater part of the evening listening to it in front of the stereo, CD jacket open, following the lyrics the whole time.  Once she got a better hang of the lyrics, then started the attitude.  Especially for "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together."  She has the words down, the head movements, the sway, the attitude.  It's almost angsty.  She writes songs and stories too, and they often center themselves around a lovelorn girl.  She's in fifth grade, desperate to be a grown up, and all full of that inner I'm-not-a-girl-not-yet-a-woman (Britney came through!).  I remember it a little bit.  And, truth be told, I'd love to go back to that young innocence for a little while.  But, how do you communicate that to her?

So for now, I just tell her: I understand, but slow down.  The time will come.

It was inevitable.  The time had come.  We could no longer see the grass, especially after Hurricane Sandy blew through, and try as we might to pretend the leaves would just blow away on their own, they were damp and sticky and heavy and blanketing the grass with no hope of leaving.  So we raked!  And while I hem and haw a bit about fall clean-up, there's something completely satisfying about raking.  I get the same satisfaction from vacuuming.  There were leaves there!  Just a minute ago!  And now I see the grass underneath!  It feels like such progress.

William and Lindsey worked like dogs out there too.  William's always been a workhorse.  As long as you're out there, he doesn't mind (in fact, he loves it) being beside you, doing what you're doing.  Lindsey sometimes slinks away and we find her inside reading and looking at you quizzically when you ask her where she's been.  Who me?  You wanted me to rake?  But, not this time.  She hauled load after load of leaves away on the tarp and, slowly but surely, our grass was freed.    

And me!  I raked too.  Not as much as these guys though.  Someone's got to tend to Parker who, I might add, was entirely lazy and didn't lift a finger.

and one more note!  an important one!  but a boring one!--  the products you win will come directly from the manufacturer/store/business.  (in other words, i'm not a go-between doing the shipping--i won't even see your winnings!) it is up to the person doing the 'giving' to make good on their word and send the winner their winnings!  if, for some reason (i doubt this will be a problem!), a giver doesn't keep up their end of the bargain, i will not be held responsible.  (but, i will surely be reticent to work with them again in the future!)  and that is all!

it's rare that parker gets to do just what he wants with me tagging along, following his lead.  rare that i am not distracted by emptying the dishwasher, checking my email, or straightening the strewn-about toys to just watch him, listen to him, play with him.  on his time table, what he wants to do.  i'm making more of an effort--to turn off the mental checklist in my head and just be.  just be his mama.  not the housekeeper, the cook, or the driver.  just his mom.  it's not easy and i think we're conditioned to move at harried paces, check things off the list, feel accomplished.  but man does it feel good when i give him an hour of my undivided attention.  parker, this hour is for you and only you.  they're sweet words.

almost every day lately we've been taking a walk down the street to see some horses in our neighborhood.  i rarely carry him, i don't push him in the stroller.  i let him walk and he holds my hand.  he stops.  he picks up an acorn, a twig.  he walks off the sidewalk to crunch some leaves.  he comes back.  he sits.  he stands.  he picks up some leaves.  he lets go of my hand to pick up a pinecone with the other.  he drops one, reaches for my hand again.  he points to a passing truck.  it's slow-going.  the ground that can normally be covered in five minutes is covered in fifteen by this mom and baby.  sometimes more.  

and that check list?  that constant tapping at your head?  it's not really that important and my day looks no different in the end for taking a long break.  to be with him going his pace.  and he loves it.  and the horses?  we point to them, i make horse noises, we watch them eat and watch their skin shudder to fend off the landing flies.  they come to the fence now to say hi to us, their frequent visitors.  i pet them.  he doesn't want to yet.  he knows the way, turning towards their stables without my lead.  for this hour, he's the leader.