have a lovely weekend

soak up the gorgeous weather while it lasts, blow bubbles, cook outside, and stop to smell the flowers. weekend, here i come. hopefully it entails good stuff. a picnic perhaps? we shall see.

the kitchen wall

one late night, ed came home from work and i just had a burst of energy to hang a bunch of stuff i had been collecting to hang on our giant kitchen wall. i am pleased with it so far, but just need to give it more love, more pics in the empty spaces, or perhaps some handwriting. not sure just what yet, but i'll let you see a more finished product when i am inspired to fill the spaces. hope you like what we did so far. a giant wall like this can be so daunting. i just wanted it to be different than the typical cork board or chalk board set up that we had in our other house. i do miss the giant chalk board though.

as a side note, i can not help but think all those people were so right when they told you you'll always be tired. i didnt believe it. ruby was an easy kid, and she was the only kid we had, so it was relatively easy. now that i find myself with the most energetic five month old ive ever known, im not sure i ever rest. lately i cant stop dreaming of tanning on the beach with a cocktail in hand, a great magazine by my side, some chips and homemade guacamole, and only the sound being that of waves in the background. i dream. no one can take the dreams away, and thank God for that, b/c it is so very delightful to drift off into wonderland sometimes.

more mother's day craft ideas to come. be on the lookout.

mom's day craft idea no.1

with mother's day coming up, may 9th, i thought i'd throw out some ideas for those out there looking for something to make. here's no. one. enjoy! thank you...'merci' bunting made with ikea linen and sewn on fabric scraps. get colorful!

for a longer phrase i did 'mon belle mere'....'my beautiful mother'

and sewed on little pink flower ditties,

then connected them all with twine.

just dont stay up till midnight doing this and creating a facebook page, snacking on leftover broccoli from dinner only to find yourself woken up at 5:30 by your darling children who are ready to have a party in your bed and think its time for breakfast, b/c you may not be able to see straight for the first couple hours of the day until the caffine slightly sets in and you wonder how it could only possibly be 9am when you were sure it had to be 9pm ....at least.

hope you like.

the cutest stripey guy in town

so mr. dec now has two whole teeth. he's five whopping months and super delicious. and boy oh boy is he full of life, strength, joy and eagerness to take on bigger and better things. starting to scootch and move around, he is constantly on the go. my absolute favorite is how he lights up when he sees ruby. they are just two peas in a pod.

don't you just adore the expressive eyebrows these mchale kiddos have?

i often feel as if dec is having a full on converstaion with me with those cool guy eye brows.

whats that? you wanna wrestle? i'll take you.

really cant get enough. never enough kisses. never enough squeezes. and never enough snuggle time. kids are the secret joy to life. they make you forget it all when you feel you just cant keep going. they give you these looks that just melt you and make it all go away. thank God for these sweet little angels.

i couldnt help but

drool over this tape by mummysam

and this felt goodness as well. spotted on cakies

and then there were these. dont you just love it? metallic and bright colors! spotted on purlbee

weekend tidbits

it was a fabulous weekend, albeit way too blasted short, as always but nevertheless quite lovely.

weekends lately have made ed and i long for a week of 'staycation'.

i know, cheesy word, but we like to dream of how we could take a vacation at home and just do things we need to get done, play for extended hours, make good dinners and eat them all outside, make fun cocktails, and go on evening walks. just those things you would normally do on vacay but just at home, b/c we just like being home and its simply easier with young kids.

now if only we could put together a faux beach in the yard it would be just perfect.

otterpops are a big hit right now. the box comes with about a million and dec loves to teeth on them, while ruby seems to think she gets one after every single meal. 'popsc'? no. not at 7:30 in the morn sweetcakes.

hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

out of sight...

definitely not out of mind; when your computer get sick and goes away you feel a little lost. ok, so im addicted, i shall admit. luckily i had some more time on my hands to give a go at things like creating a pattern, and making a dress for ruby out of this lovely blue honeycomb fabric ive had on my hands for quite some time. for the most part i am pleased with it. now, on to an attempt at one of my own. hmmm. something fun and summery perhaps. wish me luck.

enchanting castle

my lovely mother got ruby (and myself... i think) this sweet cardboard castle to build for christmas. we recently finally put the whole thing together...which comes in flat pieces so you can color or paint them beforehand.

yesterday we bedazzled it up with decorative tape (to be found at the willows)
buttons, fringe, old french paper, paper flowers, and stickers.

the best part is how ruby is really starting to enjoy doing these things that i probably get way too into. i should probably invest in a high power glue stick though, as glue all over the hands can be quite the peeling project. with her current princess craze....princess jammies....dresses and shoes, this was the perfect project. isnt it dreamy? and now the fun is we can just keep on decorating it. maybe paint will be next, for a hot summer day.

and the brand for all curious parties is called 'calafant'. they have lots of other wonderful designs...my next fave being the tree house.

doesn't warm weather

make you want to eat cold fruit...while gazing up at your awesome dada play peekaboo with mom while folding laundry

stop to smell the flowers...even if they dont actually smell too great?

and most especially play in water fountains over morning coffee with mom?

color pop

so pumped to delve into the new issue of martha. just on color. how perfect. some thank you's i had put together the other day. i do love coming up with new thank you cards; a pastime since who knows when. now, just getting down to writing and mailing them...

a bulletin board in mi casa

a scrap book of stuff i made for ruby a while back

color in the kitchen

and my super fave yellow phone that has a fabulous ring, yet you cant really hear the person speaking. who doesnt love an old time ridiculously loud ringer, and of course the mystery of not knowing who is calling. for now i just think its funny to call ed and ruby when they are downstairs and im stuck upstairs nursing. oh, i know, im hilarious

photos id like to grace my bathroom walls

all found via poppytalk

and a few easter pics...

of us grandpa s.

ruby's sweet bonnet

dec's happy composure

george in his fashionalble overalls