Building forts and hiding in any new space we could find was the norm for us growing up. Since having my own little ones, I try to create opportunities for them to do the same. Rainy days are great opportunities for secret hideaways. This play tent from Be Little You and Me has been a lifesaver over the past VERY rainy month here in Atlanta.
They bring their books, toys and pillows inside to play. However their favorite activity is hiding from mommy and surprising her when she walks in the room;) Hence, the reason Gabriel refused to be in any of these pictures I tried to capture!
These tents are handmade by Sarah Jackson from MO – which amazes this gal who has no sewing ability whatsoever…
And it sure helps to have a slew of cute patterns to choose from right? My favorite aspect of this tent is that it takes 10 seconds to set up or put away!
I kind of wish they had them in my size so that I could hide with a glass of wine on long days….sort of kidding…;)
As you know, I am an advocate of supporting small business, handmade America. I have found a site that does just the same. Aftcra is a place to buy and sell one of a kind handmade goods crafted and curated locally. Above are some of the favorite items I found there that are in my shopping cart waiting to be purchased and hung on my walls…
Take a look and see if you can’t leave the site without finding at least a few (affordable!) goodies you love. Its a perfect way to support local and give entrepreneurs an encouraging push!
Maria would never admit it but she makes a pretty darn good pie….so excited she is here to share one of her best recipes! Thank you sister…
Let me just say, there is something spectacular when you bake a pie. Making a Strawberry Rhubarb pie makes for some summer magic. I never heard of it until I moved to Kansas and it is a local favorite here.Making a pie may sound scary to most people. It was for me. I have many a pie story, but going to a pie baking class helped change my perspective. Let me put you at ease and tell you it isn’t so bad, and the more I practice, the easier and more enjoyable the experience becomes.Here’s my trick…I make the crust months or weeks or days before I know I’m going to actually make the pie. It takes the pressure off and cuts the time in half. Or if your blood pressure rises just thinking about making a pie crust, then skip making it all together and buy a ready made pie dough and make the rest. Then when you get really comfortable and are up for a challenge, you can take the training wheels off and I dare you someday to try make a pie from scratch.
Trust me, it’s a huge sense of accomplishment, I’m pretty sure I get endorphins from doing it ;)…but then again, I have a weird passion for food.
The Pie Dough
If you want to try crust from scratch, you will use one ball of dough from Country Pie Crust Recipe
Or 1 Ready Made Pie Dough (for top and bottom shell)
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe:
3 Cups of Strawberries (sliced and quartered)
3 Cups of Rhubarb (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces) Rhubarb can be found in the produce section of your grocery store, it kind of looks like red celery.
2 Cups Sugar
2/3 Cup of Flour
1 Tbs. Butter
Directions:
– Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
– Toss the chopped strawberries and rhubarb with the flour and sugar.
– Place bottom pie crust in a 9 inch pie plate. I usually poke the bottom crust with a fork 3 or 4 times.
– Spoon fruit into pie evenly distributing it and dot with butter pieces.
– Cover pie with top crust and slit with a knife for ventilation a few times. Tuck the top layer of crust OVER and UNDER the bottom layer and pinch around to seal. (I take my right thumb to the edge of the dough and pinch with my left fore finger and thumb the dough around my right thumb.)
Optional: Brush pie with Egg Wash (wisk 1 egg with 2 Tbs. Milk) to make the crust shine.
– Foil the edges of the pie so the crust doesn’t burn (removing during last 15 minutes of baking) and place in oven on bottom rack.
– Bake pie for 60 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through the slits in the crust.
Let pie cool completely, about 2 hours, before serving.
Extra Notes:
– Usually my crust doesn’t look picture perfect by any means and sometimes my crust looks lopsided, but I remind myself it’s HOMEMADE! I say a “rustic” looking pie looks more authentic anyway 😉
– For Christmas, I received of these oven liners and it totally saves my oven and house from leaking pie burning muck.
– In my oven, I usually bake about 10 minutes extra so the crust isn’t doughy, each oven is different.
Voila!
I confess I don’t make pie all the time, but I do love making it for special occasions, or when family comes to visit and it always makes the moment that much sweeter!
I think it is time to change up the outfit posts on Mondays. I need some new creative spin to keep the motivation going. With so many bloggers doing fashion posts now, its time to think outside of the box. I loved when these posts were centered around modest fashion, and I would like to bring that back a little as well as change up the main focus of the post. It may be more photography based or color themed, but whatever it is, I promise to keep it interesting:) Thanks to those of you who left some great feedback on facebook and instagram. I have some new ideas to work into the blog thanks to you! A special thank you to my friend Trish who reminded me that when we have a restlessness with our passions and creativity its often an indicator we need to reach higher and challenge ourselves beyond the norm. I was so inspired by this that I got out the good old bedside pen and paper and started jotting ideas.
Moral of the story: Surround yourself with people who uplift and encourage you to be more, and once in a while reach higher than you think you are capable of:)
P.S. How am I adjusting to life with three? Giving myself three months before I feel guilty about anything. Thanks to Lindsay for the perfect “adjusting to a new baby addendum.”
Nanna and Papa…the reason I have survived this first week as a mother of three!
There aren’t really words to describe that first week of life of a child. Despite the post labor pains, the sleepless nights, and adjustments at home, there is an unprecedented joy and peace that takes over my heart to have this tiny being in existence. I can’t bring myself to put him down very often. There are only a few precious months when their innocence and dependence on you is so pure and simple.
Watching each member of the family experience little Max takes that happiness to another level…
My husband couldn’t wait to tell everyone his boy was a whopping 9lbs 9oz. and looks at him with such pride. He holds him with such delicacy. It stops me in my tracks to see him love our children. I don’t think I could love him more than in the moments he cares for his family with such dedication.
Gabriel has amazed me with how long he wants to be near Max. This morning, 15 minutes went by of him just holding and gazing at the baby before miss Veronica demanded a turn. He proudly announces he has a new little brother named Max to every visitor we have. Each day he has made sure to have some quality time with his baby brother, and it gives me hope that he will be his life long friend and protector.
Veronica makes sure to check on the baby every ten minutes or so and she always has a diagnosis for him. “Baby Max is cryin.’ Needs paci.” She has already tried to nurse him…oh dear. She is going to be the second little mother to him, and I will have to make sure she doesn’t smother him. This video is of their first meeting in the hospital…
With each child I have grown more aware of just how fleeting the time is, and so I have ignored the laundry and the growing mess in our room, and just held him a little longer. Everything else will come and go but the time we have with our children is irreplaceable and irreversible. I know there will be rough patches with adjusting to life with three little ones, but we have moments like this to hold onto to get us through…
*Full disclosure: The smartest and most convenient baby bath and baby seat we have ever seen was a very generous gift from 4moms.com and we are so grateful to be able to use them for baby Max!
Emily is a girl after my own fashion loving heart. She has this ability to nail every look she puts together and has impeccable taste. She also happens to be an incredible mother to little Capri. So thankful to her for being here to share what so many of us mothers can relate too…getting our children ready for the world.
My life changed forever on the day that my husband and I welcomed our sweet little girl, Capri, to our family. I remember it like it was yesterday! We went in for a routine check-up and were told that our Capri was not going to wait any longer, she wanted to meet her mom and dad three weeks earlier than expected:) As you can imagine, going in for a check-up and being told on the spot that you will be having your baby within the next couple of hours was a little overwhelming for a first-time mom! I didn’t get to hold her for over 6 hours as she spent some time in the NICU, but when I finally did, it was well worth the wait! Since then, I feel that I haven’t really let her go, and I don’t plan to anytime soon:)
Today, Capri is the life of every party and it is so much fun watching her little personality begin to develop! As she grows, so does my role as a mother in her life. All parents wish that they could give the moon and stars to their children, and we try to do everything we can to help them avoid hard times, scrapes on their knees, and bumps on their heads. Sadly, we can’t always be there to protect them from everything, so I hope to instill in Capri the ability to stay confident and happy while facing the challenges that she is sure to come across in her life. This still isn’t an easy thing for her mom to do, so I will be learning along the way as well:)
Today I have the privilege of introducing you to one of my favorite go-to sites as a mother….Small Fry Blog. Its loaded with the coolest ideas to get involved with your children including project, party, and adventure ideas. Love the girls behind this blog, and I know you will soon be a daily visitor. I am so grateful to Jenna for being a guest today and sharing such a beautiful perspective on motherhood…
Thinking back to the night before I had my second baby, Jude, where was I? Uncomfortable, wanting, wishing, waiting. Not knowing what would happen the very next day at 4:06 pm.
The hour we became a family of four and my entire life changed. It’s funny how that works, how what you’ve known forever just shifts in this short but monumental moment. A moment that when remembered, lifts me up in to a euphoric happiness even on the saddest of days.
I delivered my second baby without an epidural. On purpose. I’m not amazing – every mother delivers a miracle no matter what route they take, I’m just a crazy person who did it unmedicated. Regardless of opinion on the matter, I loved my experience & I’ll tell you why.
Choosing an unmedicated birth and the rewards there after have truly changed the course of my life. While I know it’s not for everyone, it gave me the confidence in my life to try new things, and to conquer my days and not just surrender to them. To make choices based on my desires, and not by what’s popular. I learned that I’m capable of really hard things, that I’m the master of my fate, and that when I really believe I can do something, I can.
I reflect on this past year, and it’s full of things I never thought in my wildest dreams I would accomplish and achieve. I look at little Jude and I see in him all the things he has given me the strength to do. I want him to know forever that a life time of serving and loving him will never amount to what his precious soul has given me.
It’s a grand misconception that a baby, because of the nature of his demands and needs, takes away from a mother, but I’ve felt quite the opposite. While some days can be difficult, my boys have given me such profound blessings: love and purpose. In their eyes I see eternity. I see what’s most important. I see my priorities. I see my family.
