Learning Real Quick

I guess she's heard the phrase enough, so Katie started saying, "Go to potty real quick." Then she goes to find the step stool and pulls down her pants to sit on it for awhile. There is still a diaper and usually a onsie present, but hey - it's a little step forward.



Love this! Here she is waddling off to the "potty."


I figured it might be time to bring in the real thing, so I got our little potty out. She's loving it!

I never considered potty-training before 2, but maybe I should capitalize on her interest at the moment. What do you think?

Oh, and forgive the camera phone pictures. I hate camera phone pictures, but it is convenient.

Finally, I have Proof

A doctor's kids have broken arms, dentists' kids have cavities, and a photographer has no pictures of themselves! True, right? I tried to correct the situtation by finally finding a photographer to take our family pictures last fall. That's right - in September. And I just got these last week. Alas, I couldn't really recommend her, but I'm thrilled to finally have pictures of my family with me in them. Proof that I'm here too! Proof that I hold and love my kids (and my husband) too!

I was lucky that she gave me all the originals so I could do the editing myself. Here is my absolute favorite.






Still need to do some correcting on this one. But, hey - it's a happy family picture with everyone smiling!


So, yes, I totally understand what you go through to come get your family pictures taken. I know how thrilled your husband is to be here instead of - well anything else he could think of. But, I hope you find it all worth it to get some fabulous and memorable pictures of your family together. Proof that this moment existed - with you in it!

Happy Valentine's Day

We're so blessed to have great friends and family! We love you and hope you enjoy this Happy Valentine's Day!

We skipped the store-bought characters-we-don't-care-about Valentines for these. Fun, huh?


I made this for Gavin . The light bulb bit was a little trickier than I thought it would be, but once you get past the fear of shattered glass - it's no biggie!

I sure love my Valentine. He's already spoiled all the girls in the house today. What a sweetie.

Indoors is Good

We snuck in a little impromptu photo shoot the other day while the girls were playing in the guest room. I'm glad we did - I love these casual and fun pictures. I'm definitely an outdoor photographer at heart - but sometimes, indoors is good too!

Only 10

Before January is over, I have to account for my other resolution from 2010, which was to buy only 10 items of clothing. I found this was quite a polarizing idea when talking with other people. Either you buy way more than that in a typical year or you haven't shopped for yourself since you had kids to drag into the dressing room with you!

Well, I find that I'm such a good bargain shopper - when it comes to clothes - that I aquire more than I need because it's a good deal. Some of these deals are not things I dearly love or wear often. So, to curb that habit (and because we watched Confessions of a Shopaholic, which scared me to pieces) I decided to try this and see if I could do it.

The cruise we took in June and family pictures took up several of my items - but it proves it can be done! Also, Gavin sweetly bought me a pair of pants for our anniversary, which I didn't have to count. Otherwise, honestly, this is all I bought for myself last year.


Red sweater for family pictures. I love it and wear it all the time.


Long wool sweater, love this for layering.


Something sparkly for the holidays.

Got to have a wide brown belt, right? I didn't count scarves or jewelry, but I did count shoes - which I did not buy all year.

Got sucked in when shopping in the fall. But, classic colors and 3/4 sleeves are good year round.

Love, love this dress. I had watched in online for awhile and then, just before my birthday the boutique was closing it's doors - so I snatched it on clearance! Lucky birthday present for me.


Nice button-up white shirt is a necessity - like the texture of this one.

Long black dress for the cruise. Actually super comfortable and still formal-looking.

Swimsuit top - for the cruise. I could be happy never buying (or wearing) a swimming suit.

Red jacket for the cruise. And my favorite color.

There it is. Not sure what goal to undertake in this area this year. I'm thinking of the 1 in- 1 out rule. Ideas?

Refashion Goal

For 2010 I set a goal to do 10 refashions. That went along with my other goal to only buy 10 items of clothing - more on that later.

Here are 10 refashions for 2010...

This beauty came from a sheet - also became a dress for Eleanor and Katie.

I sent Gavin to the fabric store to buy me some black tulle. It cost him $0.19, which he had to charge on the credit card. We never carry cash.

I love these flowers - made from fabric from another old t-shirt.

I think this one is my favorite of the year. I bought this men's XXXL shirt for $2 from JCPenney, so there was lots of fabric to work with.

This was a two-fer. Bought this Sara Jessica Parker jumper from the DI couple years ago just because I liked the fabric. I cut it apart and made the skirt, then cut out some flowers from the extra fabric to use as appliques on the shirt. The lace edge also came from the jumper.

Fun reverse-applique scarf from two of Gavin's old shirts.

This was a refashion squared. I previously tried to make this into the flower-petal embellished shirt, but the fabric is so soft it curled all up in the wash. So, I took off all the flower petals and used some strips of fabric to embelish with this curlique design - taking advantage of the fact that I knew it would curl up. Like it much better.

There you have it. I don't think I have any plain t-shirts left in my closet, but it was a fun year!

Baby It's Cold Outside

That never stops me from going outside with my camera. I love catching frost on everything.




Too bad my electric blanket just died. I guess I'll turn on the fireplace and drink hot chocolate!