loving lately...

This mascara is 2.99! Cheap and great!

Isn't this vintage parchesi board gorgeous? Love the colors. Maybe bathroom artwork?

Found my wedding ring after 4 months missing. You should have seen my happy dance!! I was sooo thinking one of this kiddos had tossed it in the trash can. So thankful to have it back.

This Aveda product is great for my curly hair and smells divine.

We listen to this Jewel cd every day at nap and bedtime. It is beautiful and soothing. Kinda hypnotic.

Can artwork get any prettier? Love this Michelle Armas abstract.

Sorry for the blank post and then the one without words. I'm a bad bad blogger. :)

Summer lunch

Today's lunch brought to you by the fruit stand and Kraft.

I'll attempt to do some catching up soon.

Much love.

Paint chips

Holy smokes.

Just cleaned out my purse. Look how many paint chips were in there. That's 42 random guys tossed in willy nilly.

Proof that:
1. We've spent too much time at Home Depot, Lowes and Sherwin Williams lately.
2. I have a weakness for pink and yellow and aqua.
3. I'm a bit of a hoarder.
4. A project is coming up to put those to use.

RAINBOW RICE

Lately this summer, with HOT weather, unpacking boxes from moving, staying home so we don't spend money and little girls who follow me everywhere (literally)- Mama can start to get a little stir crazy.

And when I say stir crazy- I mean, getting real close to locking the bedroom door and then locking the closet door with just ME in there alone with a bag of gummy bears and a glass of tea and Mumford on pandora. Not realistic but...

Sooooo. Rainbow rice is my solution.

My girls love it.
Keeps them busy for a good half hour before they start flinging it everywhere. And give me some much needed relief from the stir crazy blues.

Here are some tips, should you find yourself in DESPERATE need of sanity.

Rainbow rice is super easy to make. Dump some white rice into a bowl. Add a bunch (30 or so) drops of food coloring. Add 4 or 5 squirts of hand sanitizer and stir. The rice will mix right up and dry within about an hour. And then it's time to play!! Obviously, we made a bunch of bowls for a variety of colors.

For maximum ease in cleanup, the best thing is a flat sheet (using our cowhide rug lately instead) with a kiddie pool on top.

[In fact- we have a kiddie pool in a closet and use it ALL the time- corralling legos, when using play dough, rolling marbles (supervised!!!!) around- it's such an awesome tool.]

The kiddie pool is where the rice is contained and the sheet is because there's no way any normal kid can keep that rice all in the pool. Overflow protection.

I usually toss in the gallon jug we keep our rice in, a funnel, some spoons, measuring cups, whatever. The girls love to pour it in the jug or use the funnel. It just feels great on your hands- I've been in that pool, too!

After the fun wears off or the kids start getting careless and flinging rice across your living room, just have them stand up and dust off their feet and shake those shorts and shirts out. I make mine get up on the couch while I pour it back into the jug -use that funnel and don't worry about every last grain and then I take the pool and sheet into the yard and shake it out. And we're done until the next day. So fun. Not too messy.

I've done this in a carpeted room, too. Not too bad. Just vacuuming afterwards. There WILL be rice in random spots. Let it go.




There ya have it.  Something to do each day, right around 3:30.  Still too hot to play outside and too early to do dinner and bedtime.  You'll make it yet. 

So lucky lately

So lucky lately to get time with little girls snuggled and sleeping with me.

I hope to always remember these lazy days with little sweaty girls sound asleep. Even if I have to hold one of them them tight until they quit wiggling and they cry because they would rather play and sing and run around. And the other needs a good drum beat rhythm on the hiney and rock-rock-rock in the rocking chair.

Shhh, my little love. Go to sleep and dream of kittens and flowers and bubbles and the beach. I'll be here when you wake up. But probably asleep, too.

Fifth of July

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Made it back from a trip to the coast with my family. It was a quick trip with good food, big winds, and little girls with adorable swimsuit hineys.

Dominoes were played. Laughs were shared. Hot tubs were relaxed in. And and best of all, we were together.

A lady who writes a "social column" in our small town's newspaper would say, "A good time was had by all."

My sister and I took Henley to her first fireworks show. A bath first and dressed in jammies, we left. At 8:30, which is a half hour past bedtime!!! Oh my!

We parked at the high school and sat on the roof of the truck. We named the fireworks- Pink Tipped Lady and Mister Twister were some of the faves. That little girl sure had fun staying up late and seeing her favorite PINK (everything, everything is pink lately!).

I'm loving seeing my girls enjoy these milestones lately. First sandcastle on the beach for Mia, fireworks show for Henley. Goofing around in the backseat of the car together. Pretty cute stuff.