Friday, February 3, 2012

Fashion Friday! Love for Me & Ko

Ok, judge me all  you want, but as a rule Raya doesn't pick  out her  own clothes. Necessary life  skill my butt :-P I decided long ago that  she can  pick  out her pjs and socks/underwear...Mama picks  out her  clothes! It  wouldn't  bother me one bit  if she's a teenager and still  asking me to put together her outfits lol....although I think we all  know that the day will  come much sooner  than that, so I might as well  enjoy it as long as I can! Thankfully Raya doesn't question this arrangement at all. It just goes without saying that I pick out her clothes.

However today I  decided could be a special treat...we weren't going anywhere and so I let her  pick out her own outfit LOL. She actually  didn't do too bad...the headband even kinda matched! :-)
She picked out a dress  that is still  much too big!

I taught her a new modeling pose lol...she  was fascinated with getting those
chubby little legs to cross! ;-)


I  asked  Raya what she wanted to tell you all about her Fashion Friday outfit  of choice. She told me "I like the skirt" and "my favorite color  is Baby Bop!"  lol....so take her fashion savy advice and put together  an outfit this weekend---I dare ya ;-)

For our "real" Fashion Friday I  am featuring the company Me & Ko today...I love their dresses! They don't have a website that I am aware of but you can usually find their  dress in nice department stores (Von Maur, Macy's, etc.) or in a variety of online stores if you just google it.

We  have only owned *one* Me & Ko dress, but I"d love  to own more! They are pricey (around $50) but you can sometimes find them on clearance (the one we have I paid $20 for). Their  claim to fame I'd say is the ruffles and how SOFT they are. Seriously, the softest things ever. Many children with sensory issues wear this brand from what I've read.

Here was Raya wearing our dress for Christmas a couple years  back.  It looked way cuter without the long sleeve shirt layered underneath, but this was the first picture I found of her in it :-P


One of the  more  current  dresses I'm lusting  over is this one


Suri  is  even a fan of  Me & Ko  dresses! :-)


(And as a quick  side note, when looking for pictures to share I  discovered this blog dedicated to Suri's fashion! haha. I've always thought she was the most  beautiful celebrity kid. Check  out the Suri blog if you're like me and fascinated lol)

Want something  with  a Me & Ko  flare, but  for MUCH LESS?! Well yesterday I had  to run to Walmart and saw these new spring shirts they have out. The ruffle details are very similiar to the ones on Me & Ko dresses! I let Raya  pick one out for her and Brielle....only $5 :-) Raya picked  an icecream cone...go figure!




Also for Fashion Friday, we've got another installment of Mama's Style :-P Yesterday the girls and I went to the mall  with my mom and Sawyer and Harper so I actually had  reason to wear "real" clothes. Remember that cute  yellow  top I got at the Old Navy Outlet this past weekend? Well  as you can see it's another of my favorite style....the off the shoulder baggy, but  cute look. And I used to always hate wearing yellow, but I think that might be my favorite color for spring! (Don't you love my girls' shower  curtain as a fashionable backdrop? lol)


I  like the button details on the shoulder

Proof that  I have a face, and a camera doesn't just  sit on a stub of a neck :-P Also, breaking out the dangly earrings haha.
I"m not a fashionista myself....am I rocking the '80s or '90s here?! I'm not sure :-P
Brielle was  left  out of Fashion Friday....but here  she  is wearing one of the very first things I ever made  for Raya to wear---I crocheted  a flower and stuck  in on a shirt! lol. I've come a long ways since then I think ;-) But  it  felt Valentiney so  I thought we'd pull it out for a day :-P


Now that  Brielle  is walking (and talking! She's  been talking up a storm this  last week!!)
I  feel like her and  Raya have been fighting more. Brielle  is starting to stand up for herself
and Raya is *not* happy about it haha. Here was Raya trying to make sissy move out of the chair....

Brielle basically  cussed  her out (in baby talk :-P)

And before I  knew it I  was  taking a picture of Brielle falling backwards because Raya  pushed her! oops.

This crying episode was a different  occassion of her tantruming...I  wouldn't take a picture of her  actually  in pain :-P
But  I love  how she's keeping one eye open here....just to make sure I  am watching her hissy fit!

Oh, in Etsy news, a couple  "oldies but goodies" have been revamped ....a customer the other day wanted to make  my "camo cutie" shirt  and have  it s ay "big  sister"  instead, for her twin girls. So  we came up with a light pink/ hot pink  version for them and I think it turned out cute! Check  out the camo big sister listing

And  as a sneak  peek, here ya go :-)

And as an aside, shirts like the one above are quite  difficult to do! Sometimes I think about how nice it'd be to have an embroidery machine...ya know, just buy a design, stick  it in the machine, let it do most the work, etc. Certainly I'm sure there is still a degree of skill  involved in that....but at the same  time I LOVE creating my designs completely on my own.  I sketch out my  ideas, hand cut out each individual letter and stitch it  on, etc. My shirts might be a little  higher priced than some on Etsy but it's  important to realize the time involved  with some of my creations! You are definitely  buying something unique and one-of-a kind when you shop with me and I always get  a nice  ego  boost  every time someone buys something from me  because I  totally made that! :-)

Another  example is the "Chick  Magnet"  shirt  I just did last  night! This was a big  seller  for me around Easter and someone ordered it the other day which was awesome because I had the chance to revamp it  now that I machine stitch instead of hand stitch. It turned out so cute!!! This is another  time intensive  design but it's  soooo adorable and detailed, you won't be disappointed by it!!! Check  out it's  Etsy listing here



And lastly, Aunt Emily....I officially hate you and this f-ing makeup kit!!! LOL. By the way, I have decided what I'm getting Harper for her birthday ;-)  (And yes, I did suggest makeup as an idea so Emily is not really to blame, but I like to anyways :-P)


I turned  my back  to empty the dishwasher, after explaining that the  makeup was only to
be put on HER LIPS...and turned back around to see this on her  arm

I guess in her defense *some* did make it to her lips!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Photo bomb *and* an award!

First things  first. Recently  I was tagged for the 2nd time to win a very cool Liebster Blog Award! (So thanks to I'm Simply Momma and It is What It Is for passing this  award to me! ...and Mary, I'm sorry I totally forgot to do this before! :-)

"Liebster is German and means 'dearest' or 'beloved' but it can also mean 'favorite'. The idea of the Liebster award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers in the hopes that it will bring many new friends/followers. So, in the spirit of good fun I am passing this award on to five other bloggers." Please stop by and visit them!
The Rules are:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal your five picks for the award and let them know.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogshare- other bloggers.

5. Finally and the best rule of all..........have fun and spread the love!


Alrighty folks, so here goes... the blogs I tag are:
These Lees   ....I started reading this  blog very recently, after she bought a shirt  from me and said she was a reader who also had her own blog--how fun! I have  really enjoyed  reading her posts...and seriously, the one from the other day about Fisher  Price people....cracked me up!

Love My Pumpkins  ....This  is actually  my  sister in law's new  blog! (Sawyer and Harper's mom) You guys probably feel like you know them already right? :-) Well check  out her new blog---it's basically a food blog, full of lots of ideas for healthy eating and new recipes she creates. (I'm more of a cupcake and icecream sorta gal haha, but I know  there are tons of people who enjoy coming up with yummy ways to eat healthy---ya know, other than the dairy in icecream hehe). Plus she  includes cute  pics of Harper and Sawyer testing her recipes!

Diapers to Diplomas   ....This  is kinda  cheating  because  I'm a secret reader of this blog hehe.  But  she has twins about Raya's  age and she does Tot School with them and weekly updates with all her neat ideas. Tons of pinworthy things --if you like tot school stuff  you'll  love  this  blog.

Constant Chatter  ....Another  cheat  here, because  she  technically has a handful of followers *over* the limit for  this award haha...but this is another new blog I've been reading. Her youngest is Brielle's  age and you guys---she has FOUR GIRLS! Can you imagine how fun that  would be?! Ok, maybe  not to everyone, but I'm totally jealous :-P

Gracie Rae  ....I  haven't been reading this blog very long either, but  I'm already hooked on her two  adorable  little girls! They seriously could not be any  cuter. Plus, remember  that organizational  challenge I posted  about back around  New Years....with the weekly  challenges? Yeah, reading her blog and seeing that she has actually *done* them helps remind me I should probably make an effort LOL.

So go check  out  my  picks and say  "Hi" to them! :-)

And  to end, the promised photobomb from today....enjoy!

Starts off  ok...got my hopes up....

Hopes quickly stomped on. Cute sister photos not  happening!


A quick smile! We'll  take  it :-)

She wanted to fix sissy's headband. Poor sissy.


Those  eyes!

Now a walking  machine!!!

I love watching her  when she is playing,
and catching those  smiles when she decides something she's  doing is really funny!

Noah's Ark Little  People toy...still a favorite!

I deluded  myself into thinking they'd  sit there back to back  and pose all cute like....

....but  a  new  walker  NEVER sits still!!!!

And  my "back up" daughter  sits still...but insists on "smiling" unfortunately!


She  specifically asked  to do a photoshoot  with Baby Boo...Grandma, you will love this! :-)







Tomorrow is  Fashion Friday....be sure  to  stop by! ;-)

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Wednesday with some weirdos!

Like my title? haha. Well see for yourself....I *did* spend my day with some WEIRDOS! :-P












At least Harper (who did no biting today!!) and Brielle were here to balance out some of the crazy :-P


Her hair is getting a little out of control I think!!!!

Today I  did  a rough draft of our soon to be new daily schedule (see my last post if you have no idea what I'm talking about haha) ....but  do you know what even the most details  and thought out  schedule *can't* eliminate? The chaos that  4 children ages 3 and under can cause in your home:



Oh well..ya win some, ya lose some! ;-)

We did work  in some craft time this morning. First we colored hearts to hang on the window with our snowflakes...

Harper stopped morning naps so she will now be joining us for craft time!



And then we did a thumbprint valentine's day project that was inspired by Pinterest...



I enjoyed making the faces on their little thumbprints! haha. The thumbprints are not uniform
because it's hard to keep little thumbs from sliding around on the paper!

Sawyer dictated to me what he loved

And Raya's :-)  (whenever I asked her "why?" she loved something she said "'cuz")  LOL
I had to laugh this afternoon when I looked  up to see that Raya  had tucked in her dolls and was jus sitting there with them hehe



Lastly, I haven't  shared any pictures of my *other* nephew in awhile...so sad that they live so far away! But I snatched  a couple recent pics to share today hehe...he was baptized on Sunday and so here he is wearing his gown (which was his mom's) and then also he did  a wardrobe change into  one of the new tie onesies I sent him as a gift (I thought he probably could make use of some new "church clothes" :-)  Can you believe how big he's gotten?! Such a stud! I made him size 6 month onesies thinking they'd be huge right now, but he's filling them out just fine I think! Kisses to baby Ryan from all of us!!

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