not me monday! it's baaaaa-aaacckkkkk!!!

Guess what guys? Not Me Monday's are back!!! You can check out all of the funny Not Me's over HERE and read mine below to make you feel better about the little blips and mishaps that occur in your own lives. Cause I tell you what, it's good to know that I am not the only woman running around doing these things...or Not.

I did NOT do very sloooooooowwwwww laps around the grocery store last week on an unprecedented solo trip to pick up food. I was NOT smiling a big goofy grin and practically skipping behind my cart at the sheer joy of casually breezing through the store without any little people pulling at coupons, screeching about cereal, or insanely running down the stores aisles. And I did NOT, the very next night, ask my husband if he needed anything special, just so I could attempt a repeat of the same grocery store retreat.

I did NOT introduce myself to a friend's husband, saying "Hi xxxx, I'm Shannon, so good to finally meet you". I would NOT have said that because apparently, I had already met him- twice. "Yeah, good to see you Shannon, we met a couple times last year." And it WASN'T me who, with lack of anything better to say, muttered, "Oh yeah, that's right, your hair looks different." Um, I would NEVER have said something so ridiculous, because one, the guy was in the Navy and those hair cuts don't really change, and two, that implies that when meeting people, I only stare at hair. Oh gosh, Shannon.

Last spring, after playing with my glasses, Jack dropped them on the ground and stepped on them, crunching them to pieces. The idea of taking 4 kids to the eye doctor while I got an eye exam to update my prescription had my head reeling. But I don't let a little fear of 4 noisy children in a crowded quiet waiting room throw me off. So I promise it was NOT ME who went 7 months without wearing glasses, and who is now wearing glasses around the clock because of the damage done to her eyes during the time without them. Astigmatism AND Far sightedness....PEACHY!

Who makes yummy cake batter blondies at 11pm because just the thought of them caused a puddle of drool on the coffee table? NOT ME!! I just eat carrots and rice cakes whenever the urge for sweets strikes.

Who looked the other way when she saw her youngest daughter gnawing on her oldest daughter's toothbrush? NOT ME!! That is super ick. I would never allow my baby girl to swap germs with her sister for the pure sake of 15 minutes of peace and quiet.

Who keeps putting off bra shopping and is walking around wearing incorrectly sized brassieres that pinch and push? NOT ME!!! I would NEVER wear something that forced me to keep tucking the ladies back in every 20 minutes, just to escape the painstaking task of trying on correctly sized cups that might actually fit.

And what kind of grown woman would throw a hissy fit, stomp off in denial and scream CHEATER just because her totally uncoordinated, got-no-kinda-rhythym, uncomfortable-to-watch, awkward-dancing husband beat her at a Wii Just Dance competition! It sure in the heck was NOT ME!!!!

"who writes blog posts when she should be folding laundry and picking up around the house? not my mama!!" -everleigh nelson

For more Not Me's click on this fancy button!

insta monday

Happy new week friends!

Even though the temperatures here are still in the high 80s and even low 90s (with a good dose of humidity for extra measure), it still feels fall-ish. Or maybe I just want it to feel fall-ish so I can wear my soft and slouchy sweaters.

Ahh, Fall. The days are definitely getting shorter, football season is up and running, and things are changing around our homefront. And the best part of this Pumpkin Spice Latte season-- my husband will be home for it!!!! 

Hip hip hurrah!!!!

*you should know, I live constantly prepared for a knock at the door by one of my friends ready and willing to stage an exclamation point intervention. but until then.... !!!!!!!

I have got piles of laundry to put away and salsa that needs eatin', so today I will just share some of my instagram photos. I have a somewhat-crafty post coming up, I just need to get some pictures taken for it. I was looking for a way to delegate responsibilities and came across a post at "no big dill" that suited my needs perfectly. By the way, if you're not already reading this blog, you need to check it out. She is all kinds of crafty and amazing and takes beautiful pictures of her equally beautiful children.

Time to get my insta on.

while I was doing dishes, he was stealing my drink

her 8 hairs still managed to make a bad hair day. that's nothing to cheer about Elmo!!!

trip to Big Air was big fun. I have the friction burn to prove it.

one of my new necklaces from Love Stitched. delicate flower, lovely color!  

salsa.....at 9am

evie + ebby waiting on their big brothers at baseball practice

the picture I messaged my friends with asking if I could wear my boots with my dress. 3 said yes, 2 said no. I changed my shoes. (and windexed my mirror)

same boots. different dress. did not ask opinions on this one. I just did.

Enjoy your Monday! I have some salsa calling my name.

watching them grow

How do we measure growth? The obvious methods of height charts and scales, okay.....

But really, as mom's, we measure the growth of our littles in entirely different ways.

And it's in these special ways that we realize how fleeting each moment, each period, each milestone is.

I don't get teary-eyed when I see that my son has gained 3 pounds on the scale, or when I realize his shoes are now in single big-people digits size. 

The tears and moment of pause come from other things.

When I watched my little girl brushing her hair the other morning and pulling a section neatly back with a bow, then she sat down on the floor as she tied her sneakers and then offered to help her little brother with his shoes- it stilled me. One moment it's slip on shoes like Mary Janes or Crocs or flip flops, the next she is lacing up her sneakers and tying them into perfect little bunny ears. She is not a baby girl anymore. Tears.

When I go to wake Tyler up for school and see him sitting on his bed reading a book, all dressed for school, backpack next to him and a full lunch box ready to go. My son can make a turkey sandwich all by himself. Wha....when did he...whaaa?? Why do I want to cry when I see him using a knife to carefully spread a dab of mayo across the bread, stack nice layers of turkey, and then use the knife to divide his sandwich into two? The lunch making is no longer an exclusive duty of mine. It's not something he needs me to do for him anymore. When did he get so big?

Don't even get me started on the day Jack learns to properly pronounce the "L" and "Th" sounds. Oh my gosh. When our cat becomes Lucky instead of Yucky, when he gets his Legos instead of his Yegos. When things are This and That, and not Diss and Dat. I'm gonna need to sit down for that.

And then there is this one. The little strawberry patch on her forehead is fading fast, leaving not much trace of the baby that came her own way a little over a year ago. She is walking and dancing and likes to yell out "RAHHH!" to us-- cause you know it's super scary! The same little girl that was stretching and kicking inside my belly not too long ago is now lifting my shirt up a bit to blow raspberries on my tummy. In a blink.

It's a blessing to watch our babies grow, to watch them learn, absorb, apply and do. But as a mom.......as a mom.....it's a reminder of how fast it all passes and sends my heart on that impossible quest of bottling every drop of every moment up.

Those height charts ain't got nothin' on watching my kids skip away from me in shoes they laced up all on their own. And a turkey sandwich.....a turkey sandwich has me in tears.

{fresh}

There is nothing like the smell of freshly cut

fabric in the morning! 

Okay, it may not have a smell that you can actually smell, but, it does pack the punch of a Grande Caramel Light Frappuccino. And here comes the Starbuck tangent....My GCLF makes me so happy! It breathes some energy into me, it jumps start my day, it is just so pretty and slightly foamy and just, just...WONDERFUL! The same kind of get-me-going wonderful that this fabric is! (um, why is frappuccino underlined in red? it is fine the way it is spell-check. how has Mr. Webster not approved that one yet?? get with it, dude! it's 2011!) 

I'm having a tough time choosing which fabrics are my favorite.

I REALLY love this one. It is just all kinds of lovely.

And then this one had the adorable whimsy going on.

The blues and greens of this one.....LOVE!

And the varied warm tones in this floral print, yay!!

And then there's the purples. I must be on a purple kick because when I was shopping on Etsy, I realized 90% of the fabrics in my cart were a shade of purple. I went back and adjusted, but I could not let go of these two.

Sorry about the dark photos! My dining room design studio does not get a lot of morning light.  I cannot wait to get going with these fabrics. I JUST inherited a beautiful Pfaff sewing machine from a very sweet- and also very creatively gifted- friend. She created my first handmade diaper bag that I loved, and shortly after, made me a beach bag and some smaller pouches that have been used and used and lent out and used and- well, you get it. She isn't sewing as much as she used to because she also has 4 little people....among them 2-year-old twins and an almost 1-year-old little guy. She also recently upgraded to a neato machine (the kind of machine that comes with special overhead lighting so that when you approach it, it's lit up like a treasure in a desert and you hear that 'oooaaaaawwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhh' kind of reverent gasp echoing in your head.) She generously parted with her Pfaff on a night when I texted her that I was about to chuck my current sewing machine out the window. I cannot wait to sew with this beauty. 

For the astute observers, I'd just like to explain that I do not do shots of liquor while I sew. (not yet anyway) I use the shot glass to trace little  circles for the fabric flower headbands I make for my girls.

Seriously, cannot wait to sew! It just needs a wee bit of fine tuning, and then I'm off. What I lack for in sewing skill, ability, knowledge and anything else important to sewing, I make up for in enthusiasm. Well, not really. I'm not sure I can really make up for lack of ability, but it's a nice thought, isn't it? I get excited when my lines are straight. But thankfully my little models are not that particular. They are usually just happy to eat goldfish in a seat that desperately needs a hose down.

.....also, I wanted you to know I wrote a post a couple days ago, but for your sake, I deleted it. Just so you don't feel like you missed out on something wonderful {you're welcome}, it was titled "How My Rotary Cutter Changed My Life" and was basically just an ode to my rotary cutter. The level of praise I directed towards my rotary cutter was slightly embarrassing......like he (my rotary cutter) would read what I wrote and be so thrilled that I was bragging on him, he'd just start busting out new tricks, like magically winding my bobbin or operating in auto mode and cutting fabric while I wipe down baby seats. 

Also, it was a comically sad how excited I was to cut straight lines. I realize- after reading it- that most people can do that with plain ol' scissors. So I trashed the post. I figured I'd save the crazy side of me for a really special occasion. You know, like Columbus Day. Which is coming up, by the way........

Speaking of Columbus**, I just noticed that while I've been typing, my 2-year-old has disrobed completely and is playing his brother's DS in the buff on the fireplace while drinking from my bobble. 

Which basically means....it's time to go :)

Happy Thursday Y'all!! 

**I'm really amused with myself that I linked to Columbus, just in case you're not aware of this guy. I'm here to help.