This is Why I've Been Missing

I haven't blogged in a week. This is why. I am love with a tiny, brown haired, 8 pound beautiful little boy who came into our lives all of a sudden on a Saturday morning. We have been in North Carolina loving on him, becoming a family, and all I've cared about is kissing his tiny baby hands and arms and legs and cheeks because I know how fast he'll grow up. It's been a long, humbling, uncertain week that has changed my life. Bean has a baby brother, Colin, "Cookie" as she calls him. Bean and Cookie, my daughter and my son, brought to me through two strong birth mothers and the miracle of adoption. My life is complete, I am a happy, happy mama. 

What We're Reading Now

What I'm reading now:

Fiction

The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain. An interesting historical fiction take on Earnest Hemingway's first wife.

Non-Fiction

The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. So far I love this book. The author is on a quest to find out why she's not as happy as she could be. She's a financially sound successful writer with two great kids and husband, a flat in NYC, and supportive parents and in-laws. Basically the perfect life. And yet she found herself constantly complaining and annoyed. She set out to research and implement all different techniques for being "Happy." I also like the blog, The Happiness Project. This book is definitely worth the read.

What Bean is reading now:

Meeow and the Big Box, by Sebastien Braun. Bean loves this creative book about a cat who uses a cardboard box to create a fire truck.

Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett. A sweet book about a little girl who adds color to a black and white town with her unending box of colorful yarn.

That's How!, by Christoph Niemann. A little boy imagines how everyday things like airplanes and boats work. This one is great for creativity.

Quotes Wednesday

Found on French By Design, originally via Make My Mood

New Idea Tuesday - Kitchen Canister Labels

I think this is a really cute DIY idea, although I may use a shortcut with clear labels instead of the entire process described in the blog post. But either way, I love the style, and it would help make my kitchen cabinets much more organized and cute. Great idea, from The Painted Hive. See the original post for the process, more pictures, and the FREE label printables.

Photos of the Day

We had a great Easter weekend with family, full of laughs and too much candy. There were lots of great pictures from the weekend, but these are my all-time favorite Instagram pics of Bean and her two cousins reading. They all took turns "reading" the book out loud to each other before bedtime. It was a sweet, peaceful memory from the weekend. 

Hoppy Easter Weekend To Ya

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Photos of the Day - Buzz and Spidey

I love that my little girlie girl likes to be a princess but also likes to dress up like Buzz Lightyear and hang out with Spider Man.

Quotes Wednesday

Faith and Fate

There are times in my life when I've had to submit my usual controlling mind to the order of the universe. I've had to have faith that there's a plan, and it will unfold as its supposed to. This is one of those times. There are things happening that I can't at all control, that are testing my faith that things will work out as planned. That our fate has already been determined, and we'll know it when we get there. I try to always have faith, but then there are those times when I'm on the brink of major things, and I can almost literally feel the world turning in it's pre-defined ways. As if someone above is watching, saying "let's test this one for a bit here, and then we'll give her what she needs when it's time." I don't know if that's really happening, it's probably a little egotistical of me to think that someone's watching me specifically from above. But it just feels that way sometimes, at the edge of major changes. So bring it on. Test me. I won't break. I submit. I have faith, my fate will show itself when it's supposed to.

I Dig This - Polaroid Z340 Instand Camera

I totally dig this new Polaroid Instant Camera, found at here at Photojojo. The Z340 takes 14 megapixel pictures that can be printed out either in high resolution or old fashioned polaroid style. The memory card can also be taken out to print pictures outside of the camera. Awesome. Something else I need!!!

New Idea Tuesday - Subway Sign Dresser

I found this great DIY idea over at Brooklyn Limestone, via Lindauer Designs. I'm keeping my eye out for a dresser like this at flea markets this summer and I'm going to try it for sure. Love it!!

Signs of Spring

 Signs of Spring are all around. It was a light winter, nothing like last year's craziness. But it was still a winter, and I'm happy that the signs of Spring are really here now. It's all uphill from here, the days will get longer and the air will get warmer. What signs of Spring are you seeing around? Here's a few we've seen over the last few days.

Baby lambs at the farm.

Buds on the trees all around, causing allergies!

 Easter projects strewn around the house.

 Easter decals on the windows, and the green grass outside those windows.

 Daffodils picked from the garden in vases around the house.

 

Late afternoon sun still high in the sky.

 Shrubs poking up through the grey forest landscape.

 Swinging.

 Tricycling.

 Sidewalk chalking.

Happy, Happy Spring