headed to the sunshine state...

the price family is going to have one last summer hurrah in florida!!! we are very much looking forward to lounging, basking in the sun (or if you are me...basking under an umbrella - i prefer a moon tan), burying daddy & grandpa in the sand, playing paddle ball with honey...just spending time together! so far so good with the weather forecast!!!

this pic was taken last year...i can hardly wait for our photo session this time...just more documentation of how much my littles have grown over the last 12 months. i want to bottle these memories up so i never forget.

the whispers of the water. seagulls. sand in my toes. laughter from my little girls. holding hands. sunsets. hearts in the sand. sea shells. salty smells in the air. memories made...

just a few of my favorite things about the beach.

wonder what ella & maddie's favorite things will be? can't wait to find out!!!!!

i did not...

let ella have an ice cream cone for breakfast...because we brushed her teeth before she remembered that she had not had the promised cone for dessert!

take a shower & put on athletic clothes...just so i wouldn't have to wear a push-up bra!

wash a load of clothes and leave them in the washer for three days...thus leading to yet another load to re-do!

give maddie marshmallows...even though i told myself we must try harder with veggies!!!!!

eat cocoa pebbles for lunch three days in a row because i just couldn't get enough of 'em!

ignore the smell coming from my youngest's backside...just in the small chance, her daddy
caught a whiff first!!!!


let maddie draw on herself with ink pen because both of her parents were trying to give this blog a face lift!


give in to ella at 3 a.m. and go sing to her because she wanted someone to cuddle with her...and i just couldn't stand it!


nope, not me!

under contruction...

we are momentarily trying to find a new "face" for our blog...still trying to work out some kinks!
thanks to my wonderful, computer savvy husband...this should be sooner than later!

hope everyone had a great weekend! maddie is recovering from a stomach bug...so we spent the vast majority of the last two days as jeffrey says "quarantined" in our house! hopefully, the worst is behind us!!!!!!

wordless wednesday...

GO TIGERS...

or saints, or redskins...whatever!!!!!

we had such a fun time with the spence family on sunday! they invited us over to watch the football game. ella decided that she MUST wear her favorite football gear...even though we weren't going to watch LSU play...c'est la vie!!!!

she helped me decorate some cupcakes...and we had a little fun representin' all our favorite teams!!!!

we LOVE football season around this house...makes me think of pumpkins, chili, crunchy leaves, and snuggling with a blanket! doesn't get much better than that!

we are looking forward to our fall adventures...i am really counting down the days until we go apple picking!!!!!

what are your favorite things about fall?

"painting me happy"...

well, i have decided to make it "official" and start a little business selling my paintings! the slide show above debuts the designs that i will be offering...possibly another holiday one thrown in the mix as we draw near to christmas! most of the designs can be tailored to suit specific color/gender needs!

please pass this info along to friends & family that might be interested in birthday gifts, baby gifts, or decor for children's rooms! there is a possibility that the canvases might be available through a few "gifty" websites...but until all those details are worked out - i just thought i would share here!!!!

i am really excited about this opportunity...i have been searching for something that provided a creative outlet...that i really loved doing...& this just makes my heart happy!

i love knowing that i could leave a "happy mark" for someone else to enjoy!

for now, please email me at paintingmehappy@gmail.com for questions or order placement!

wordless wednesday...

my little lost lamb...

that would be MADDIE! since ella started school yesterday, madeline seems very lost without her "bestest" friend in the whole world! she walks around calling for her which breaks my heart! you should have seen the reunion between them when we picked ella up yesterday afternoon...ella was kissing all over maddie and they were embracing each other! they truly have a bond - one that i know will keep on growing - one that i look forward to watching!

madeline and i have to get busy planning what we are going to do to keep ourselves entertained while our favorite "first born & big sis" is away...as we speak, madeline is "reading" a magazine while we wait for the sear's repair man!

only two more hours and counting until we both get to see ella!!!!!! YIPEE!

hope everyone's back to school has been happy, exciting, & memorable! what would we do without our little peanuts?!?!

creativity flows...

after a long hiatus from anything creative going on around this house...i became inspired tonight!!! a trip to michael's, my "sonic" coke in hand, & sweet ella as my assistant...and i was in business! i had such a great time creating my "Picasso's"! i am really considering selling some of these canvases...i would love feedback from my loyal blog readers! i have always wanted to find something that i love to do that would not take me away from my peanuts for too long! since i am a night owl anyway, this is something i can do after the kiddos are tucked in tight!

who knows...but for now, my little girl's doors sure look cute!

settling in...

slowly, but surely, we are trying to regain our footing and settle back in to our "normal" pattern of life...whatever that is! you know you have reached a new level in motherhood when the best you have to offer your children for a snack is garlic and butter croutons...and i am not even exaggerating!!!!!!! since we were going out of town for so long, we coasted through the last week or so of our time here back in august, eating what was in the pantry and fridge. what that left us with was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! and then i got home and our microwave is broken...meaning we really have nothing!!!!!! somehow, we survived and we are now stocked once again! all the berries, cheese, yogurt, cheerios, goldfish, beans any little girl could want!!!!!

however, as i stated above...our "normal" may not be the average american's "normal". as i was preparing supper tonight, i sent ella to wash her hands. well, maddie decided that she would wash her hands as well...IN THE TOILET! yes, that's what i said...can i get a GROSS! so, this is where she spent the remainder of the moments before we ate...

you got it...washing with SOAP in the sink! (we'll leave out the part where she was drinking from the drain stopper) with all that madeline gets away with in this family...i can't imagine what baby #3 is going to get by with...i shudder to think! no, baby #3 is NOT on the way...yet!

we meet ella's new teacher tomorrow...and she has the "scared happies"! that is ella's way of describing excitement! i have a feeling that her biggest fan (aka maddie) is going to be awfully lonely while big sis is away...mommy may be kinda lonely too! we look forward to all that miss ella will learn this year and all the friends that she will make! takes me back a few years to new shoes and fresh school supplies...my how time flies!

picture this...

lots of people we love...all packed into one vacation!

wordless wednesday...part deux

too many to pass up...

precious moments...

doesn't every little girl want to feel like a princess? well, ella & madeline spend the majority of their lives being "told" with and without words that they are just that...little dignitaries...but there is someone that deserves some special praise for being one of their favorite princes (although one of them still needs a little convincing!!!!)



GRANDPA.

about a year ago, dayne took ella on a bona fide "date". ella put on a "beautiful dress" (her words, of course) and they headed out for an evening of adventure. the date consisted of a dinner at the local piccadilly (located inside mall st. vincent's), riding some rides, eating some "lemon juice & pretzel sticks", and perusing the toy store. well, that was all it took to win ella's heart. ever since that first date, she looks forward to her time with grandpa every time we go to shreveport. she makes sure, in advance, that her grandpa knows that she wants to go on "their date". even though she is given the option of going many other places, she always wants to go and do that exact same thing.


on their date during this past visit...grandpa was suckered into buying ella some shoes!!!! anyone that knows ella can tell you that since she turned two, she has a "shoe fetish"! she is very opinionated about her footwear - so not every shoe will do. after lots of trying on and modeling...this is what she chose! i can't think of anything that looks better with pink sundresses...can you?
as a little girl, i cannot imagine a better feeling than being fully loved by some very important men in your life. grandpa is building some precious memories with ella...and one day madeline will benefit as well...


i know that our little girls will grow up secure in the fact that they could not have been more loved. what greater gift could there be. the shoes, air brushed dora t-shirts, glasses of lemonade, blue jellos, mashed potatoes...none of that really matters. what does matter is that a wise man, who happens to be "her grandpa", took the opportunity to get to know her and spend time with her. love personified. period.


no doubt precious moments for ella & grandpa...but also, precious moments for a mommy that sees the smile on her little girl's face...and knows that years from now, she will still wear that smile with pride...because her grandpa was special...and special is how he made her feel.

thank you, grandpa. you are one in a million. we love you from the top of our head to the tips of our little black patent shoes!!!!!

wordless wednesday...