Road trip

We ventured from southern Ontario to Massachusetts last Friday! We have done this several times before and this was no different. We are here for two weeks. So I packed enough for a week for myself and three kids.

I found it hard to figure out what I was going to pack to wear for one of the weddings we are attending while here. Funny thing is, I still don't have a clue. I guess I am going to have to buy something. Hehe!

So far on our trip we have been doing a little house hunting and visiting family. It has been quite busy. We have a wedding on Saturday, my hubs is the best man and my girls are the flower girls. I have made programs and place cards for the couple!

They were easy to make just bought them at Michaels and downloaded the template.

Hope you have a great weekend! What are you u to this weekend? 

I have to run, we are off to the beach!

Hugs,

Katey

I Can't Keep Up

I cannot seem to keep up with my house. It's small (but super cute, if I do say so myself) and it gets cluttered and mess so easily.

It stresses me out big time. Since we've been having such gorgeous weather, the house has gotten worse. It seems like a drop off center before we are on to the next outdoor activity. And if anything new is added into the mix (like Liza having a weird rash/virus) then I can just forget about it. 

I've decided that we need some new habits around here. It hit me when we came home from running errands and Liza took of her sweatshirt and ran to put it in her room. I thought, "wow I am so proud of her for developing that habit." And then the light bulb went off in my brain. Duh! We have totally gotten out of routine and any good keeping up with the house habits we previously had.

So, to Pinterest I turned.

Found Here

Found Here

Found Here

Now, to pick one or make my own!

How do you stay on top of your cleaning??

XOXO Sarah

Update: I am not sure why the pictures are blurry and my links aren't working. It will be fixed once my toddler is content!

A Bee Day Party

Hello Readers!

It's been another crazy few days in my house with birthday parties and a sick two year old. 

I thought you might like to see a few birthday party pictures! I am happy with the way things turned out. Especially because I felt like I just threw it together and didn't plan it months in advance!

Enjoy :)

I found some free printable s here and bought some yellow lanterns from the Dollar Spot at good ole Target. The cake was ordered from Wright's Dairy Farm and was amazing!

I made the cupcakes! Funfetti anyone? The cute sugar bees came from here.

A few balloons added to the simple party decor and my mom's garden's did the rest of the work.

Since there were about 30 kids invited, I knew that something must be done for them and I hired Liza's music teacher to come do some fun things with them. 

See the little boy and girl sitting near me? Katey's kids!

 She was amazing. And not all the kids showed up, but a bunch more joined us after this picture was taken.

The tots loved her!

The very hungry and tired birthday girl.

Cake time!

Let me have some of yours, please!

Oh, and yours!

Thanks for looking! I'll be back tomorrow.

XO  Sarah

Car Seat Safety

Happy Friday!

We are having a heatwave! Is it sweltering hot where you live? 

Today we wanted to share with you a post that  Melissa from Lissy's Two Cents wrote. She happens to be Katey's little sister (except the stinker is taller than us both!) and a mother of two little boys. Melissa has a passion for car seat safety and she enjoys sharing her knowledge with others.

We feel that is important to share her post with our readers because there are still many people who are not aware of how to keep their child(ren) safe while in the car. 

Please read THIS and share with your friends and family!!

Be safe and stay cool!!!

We love you all,

Photography Talk: 2 lenses and 3 Pinteresting Tutorials

Hi there!

I am getting ready for our road trip to New England. We will be there for two weeks visiting family, friends, attending weddings and birthday parties. Phew it will be busy, but fun!

I found some great websites/tutorials for those who want to learn how to use their cameras, especially those who have a DSLR. It took me a while to start using the fabulous features that came with my fancy camera. As a matter of fact, it took me over 2 years to purchase a lens besides the one that came with the camera. My first lens purchase was a 50mm 1.8. I personally thinks it's Canon's best kept secret. It is inexpensive but takes great pictures! A great budget lens for those that love photography as a hobby.

Here are two pictures I have taken with this lens.

I just bought another new lens for my camera. The Tamron 28-75mm.2.8 is a good walk around lens, meaning you can use it for almost all situations that may arise and it will take a nice picture. It compares to the pricer canon version 24-70mm. I like the lens, but I am still getting used to it. I have taken hundreds of pictures already, but I am still trying to get a feel for it. It is much heavier than the 50mm 1.8.

Here are a few pictures I have taken with it. Keep in mind I am still trying to get a feel for it.

I still have so much to learn! I have been looking at a few websites I found on pinterest. 

Here are three of my favorites. Check them out! 

Click Here

Click here

 The below mini tutorial is an easy way to remember what to do in different situations.  It serves as an excellent help especially when you just start out in Manuel mode. I am going to print it out and put it in my camera bag as a reminder. 

Do you have any tips or tricks about photography to share?

 I challenge you to take your camera off auto and learn all the wonderful functions that come with your Digital SLR cameras. 

Hugs,

Katey

My Baby is Two!

Today is my baby's second birthday! 

don't look at the mess...we are getting ready for a birthday party!

She woke up to balloons and a new doll house! Now I have to find a place to keep it in our tiny house.

She is loving it! I want to add a little baby and stroller into the mix of furniture and funny looking people it came with. I know she will really enjoy putting a tiny baby into a stroller or crib.



I woke up in disbelief that two years have gone by so quickly. The past two years have been amazing. An equal mix of wonderful and challenging. I love my girl so much and I cannot imagine my life without her in it.

Liza is such a blessing. She is so sweet and loves to cuddle, but at the same time, loves running around and playing outside. Today she said to me, "Mama, I love you! I love you! I love you!" My heart was bursting with joy. How did I get so lucky?!

Celebrating our birthdays with cake and strawberry shortcake! Yum!





She has a big birthday party coming up next weekend and I am so behind with planning it! Liza happens to have a lot of cousins around her age (which is so fun!) so it has been a challenge keeping this party small. I am so excited to see her running around with all her little friends and cousins.

Happy Birthday my girl! My little best friend and my heart! You are an amazing and sweet girl and I am so very blessed to be your mommy.

XOXO Sarah

P.S. How do you like the blog's new format? Much better, I hope!!! 



Our Dads

Yippee! It's Friday!

Before we get started, we just wanted to let you know that over the next few days there will be some updates to our blog! We are very excited for a new look and hope that once things are all finished, you will enjoy it too!!

In honor of Father's Day, we would like to share five things about our fathers with you.

Sarah:

Well, for months I have planned to write a post entitled, "On Being 30," but seeing as though I am no longer 30 (sigh.), I am happy to share with you a few things that my father has taught me. I might look more like my mother, but I seem to be a lot like my dad. Except my feisty side. That's all my mom.

My Daddy

1. My dad taught me to take things in and to really think about them before making any decisions. Not to rush into things. That sometimes it is best to not  think with my emotions, as I sometimes do. Hey, I am Italian. Well, a little bit.

2. My dad taught me not to be lazy. I even had a hard time calling out of work when I was sick. Well, except for the time I called out "sick" to attend the Red Sox World Series parade! But, I know that was different, that was for the Red Sox. Speaking of the Red Sox, I loved going to the games with my dad and grandfather when I was young!


3. My dad made me do me things that not all girls learn to do. I can grill, mow the lawn, throw a ball, and follow baseball. He taught me how important it is to find interest in some of the things my husband is interested in so that we can do them together.

4. He showed me how I should be loved. Watching my dad love my mom caused me to have high standards when it came to relationships and I am very thankful to have found someone to love me the way I deserve to be loved.

5. My dad has the most steady character out of anyone I have ever known. Does that make sense? I hope I can be as true to myself as he is to himself.

Mom, Dad, Brother, Me :)

I Love you, Dad!!

XOXO Sarah


I am so happy it's Friday! This means only one week until vacation! It's been a tough few days because my hubs has been working long hours. I am thankful though for the wonderful ladies I have met here that make the days go by fast!

 Happy Birthday to Sarah! I can't believe we are in our 30's, seems like yesterday she was driving me around in her old 1984 Toyota Camry with the broken radio. We had to bring a battery operated cd/radio boom box in the car with us. Those were great memories! I look forward to creating many more. Love you Sarah! xo

We were 16 here. And very cool.

I have some great childhood memories of me and my dad.

1.When I was 4 or 5 I used to eat raw little necks with my dad. My mom thought it was funny.

2. He used to buy me baseball cards so I could trade with the neighborhood boys. One of those neighborhood boys is still my friend today, and my son's Godfather. :)

3. He bought me my first softball glove and would play with me. He never discouraged me even though I really wasn't that great at the sport. LOL

4. He taught me to ride a bike without training wheels. That tradition was passed onto my big girl. He also taught her how to ride last year.

5. He took me on my first roller coaster at rocky point. I remember being chicken, but it was a great memory anyway!

I am thankful for my dad and I love him very much!

Me and my Dad

Hugs, Katey


Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! We hope you all have a great weekend!

A few more Fun Father's Day Ideas

Happy Hump Day! I am so glad it's the middle of the week, which means one day closer to the weekend.  My girls did a questionnaire yesterday about Daddy. 

Print Here

Below are their answers to the questions. Some of them are quite funny. For example my 3 year old thinks her daddy is 90.  My 8 year old knows her dad likes all kinds of food, This one time we attempted a thai style dish in the crock-pot and it was not very good. We had to order pizza. Ever since then she always brings it up about how daddy didn't like it. Too funny! 

This one is from my big girl. She thinks its cool to try and write in cursive! :)

The best part about their answers is they know how much daddy loves them! And they absolutely adore him! 

My big girl helped her little sister with her questions about Dad.

I found the poem below on the back of my 3 year old's preschool calendar. It would be great on a card, or framed with a child's footprints. What do you think?

A Poem for Father's Day

"Walk a little slower,Daddy" 

Said a child so small

"I'm following in your footsteps,

And I don't want to fall

Sometimes your steps are very fast,

Sometimes they're hard to see;

So walk a little slower,Daddy

For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,

You're what I want to be;

Then I will have a little child 

Who'll follow me.

And I want to lead just right

And I know that I was true;

So walk a little slower Daddy,

For I must follow you."

Thank you for all of your ideas yesterday. Please keep them coming. 

Father's Day Ideas

Happy Tuesday!

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday, but we are back today with some homemade, easy, fun, last minuet Father's Day gift ideas. If you're anything like me than you have not bought any gifts for the Father's in your life! Whoops!

Here are some ideas that we thought you might find helpful!

Have some cute kids and sidewalk chalk laying around? How sweet and easy is this? Draw a little something, pose your kiddos, snap a picture, and stick it in a frame you already have laying around the house!

check it out here

How about rocks? I bet you could easily find a rock or two!

source

When Sarah taught kindergarten, this was always a favorite gift to send home to the dads! You can customize the questions to anything you want! It's guaranteed to get a chuckle out of everyone who reads it!

source

Oh, look! There is even a free template that you can just print out and fill in! Look here!

This idea has been floating around forever, but we still think it is adorable!

here

Or maybe you like this one better?

  

What are you doing for all the father figures in your life? Share your ideas with us! Especially if they are easy and cheap! Hehe!

Have a wonderful afternoon our friends!