dearest robin,

We're ready for you!

We've been getting your "room" ready, vacuuming, cleaning toilets, shopping, meal planning...and I think we're ready.

Sophie has set out all the proper princess attire by your bed, should you feel the need to sport a crown at any point during your visit.

We have goodies for you....

You're the FIRST familiar face we'll see in THREE months. CANNOT wait to see you, friend.

FOUR more hours!!!!!!!

xo,

{alicia}

my mother aka: pollyanna

Sometimes my mother seriously drives me nuts....

ok, just keep reading.

I call her to complain, vent, spew and here's why she ticks me off:

she doesn't do it back.

 Like she turns it all around and plays the stupid "Glad Game" on me.

She's impossible to complain to. I'll even say, "mom, just be crabby with me!!"

She just laughs...LAUGHS! Ugh, mother!

But I realized something when you tip things upside-down like that...you feel good, or at least better.

I might say, "ugh! this gross white carpet is so hard to keep clean."

She'll say, "oh, but doesn't it feel good under your feet."

Seriously??

So, it's Monday....and for a Monday, I'm pretty darn excited about it. I owe my mother for my cheery disposition. Thanks mom... even though you drive me crazy ;)

School: A challenge? Do my kids get on my nerves? Do I want to go in the closet and cry because I just explained the same thing 30 times?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Mom's version (and the true version): I get to be with my kids each and every day and I will never never regret that. I have the luxury of taking my time teaching something that might be a challenge to one of them and who cares? Nobody's keeping track...it's ok.

Rain: It's been really rainy and gloomy. Boo.

Mom's version: Everything looks beautiful after a rain. Kids can splash in puddles. The cool air feels good. A little rain never killed anybody. And it makes for fabulous reading days.

And candle-burning...I got this at Target. (a couple people asked)

Also, I'm LOVING the Guernsey book :)

Meal Planning: It's tedious. I don't like going to the grocery store. It's expensive. I want a cook.

Mom's version: I get to take care of my family by making them meals. My kids are not picky. I have a friend coming TOMORROW!!! yeah!! and she and I will have a blast cooking together this week :)

Bottom line is I am blessed...like super blessed and I forget sometimes.

So, yeah mom :)

Happy Monday, peeps.

xo,

{alicia}

friday::saturday

This week was a blur. When your planner looks like the above picture, it's bound to be a busy one. I was in my workroom for about 8 hours straight on Thursday...my poor children. But thank YOU for your orders and support! Everything is shipped and on it's way.

Friday was errand day. And can I just say, Friday was a really dumb day.

I headed out the door with three kids in tow, and these:

Here's how it went:

appointment at 9

Target afterward, tried a "shortcut" and added 40 minutes to the morning

lost my debit card

to the bank to replace debit card

Target

Post Office

lunch at McD's (ugh)

Grocery Store

Redbox

Redbox rejects my temporary debit card

CVS

CVS tells me I don't have the right insurance card

Home to find the right card

Can't find

Unload car

Still can't find card

Husband saves the day

Back to CVS

Try Redbox again

Rejected again

Home

3:30pm

Ugh!

Somehow in the putting away of groceries, I purged my counter tops and cleared them all off and rearranged. I don't know what it is about that but I love my counters alllll cleared off. It felt good, like I actually accomplished something.

Spaghetti for dinner.

Baths

Stories...we love this one.

Sweats, popcorn, True Grit...it was good.

My darling little boy-clone of myself is quite the list-maker as of late. He's been making lists for the weekends. Here's todays list:

Yes, it says clean AND school. Yes, I'm mean. No, I don't care.

Academics were back-burnered both Thursday AND Friday (Friday is usually our make-up day) and we needed to get in our math and history time.

Also, I made my kids clean/dust/pick-up/put away/clean mirrors/wipe floors/vacuum and MY oh MY does it look niiiiice! The boys' wives will thank me one day.

Now if it would only stay this way till Tuesday night when my dear friend, ROBIN, gets here!!

They checked some things off their list and Jack and Jarrod headed to Target to fulfill Jack's tooth-pull prize. Noah chose to stay back so he could finish his math and play the NEW GAME when they got home.

He finished his math way too fast and had too much time to kill before they got home. He camped out by the door...with a chair...and his bible. mmmmk...

Finally, they made it!!!

(Dad is the hero today, that is for sure!)

I'll give you one guess at what the boys are doing right about now :)

They also brought lil' ol' me a gift....

I've been looking for a fedora FOREVER...don't you think I just needed one?! And they found me one at Walmart of all places. I must have a little pinhead...none of them would fit, but this one fits great! I love it.

So now, Sophia's napping, the boys are playing, Jarrod is reading.

Today is SOOO much better than yesterday.

It's 4pm, my coffee mug is full and steaming, and I have a pile of books and magazines waiting for me.

Sayonara, sweets :)

xo,

{alicia}

PS: Don't forget about free shipping in my shop till the end of the weekend. Code: WINTER12

free shipping for you

Good Day, beautifuls.

I just wanted to tell you 'ello and that I added a couple more thingies to my winter line yesterday. I've been feeling the need to paint lately, so here's what I came up with...

I have a couple of these and then a couple more Patchwork Heart banners...but one is spoken for. So that makes one. My mad math skills frighten me sometimes!

And also, since I'm sure you hate paying shipping as much as I do, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING in my shop today through Sunday! Just use this code: WINTER12 when you check out.

So, shop away, sweet things :)

See you next week!!

do y'all know ms. amy?

I received an email from Amy quite a while ago...a year? I can't remember, but a while. She told me about herself and how she'd been reading my blog for a while, but had never commented. (amy!! shame on you ;)) And how she and I had all these similarities like homeschooling, creative creating, and junking!

Well, since that first exchange, her and I have emailed/called/texted every week AND she's started her own blog. Amy is just an all-around awesome person, and I think you should all get to know her...

She's super fun...like, they have an ice skating rink in their backyard. How fun is that?!

They live in beautiful Montana (not nearly close enough to NC) and they go on these amazing camping excursions almost every weekend in the summer.

She has FOUR little girlies...can you even imagine??!!

Look how sweet...

Amy is constantly baking with them, crafting, playing...

She also makes these adorable little blooms that you can pin or clip to pretty much anything you can think of. She sent me some for Christmas...and some for Soph too and they. are. so. cute!!

(here's mine)

And also, Amy has a spot at the antique store where she lives. So she has a booth area and she changes it out for every season. I love that! I want to buy everything in it. She adds her handmade goodness too...

Here's what her booth looks like now for Valentine's Day...

And what it looked like for Christmas...

And for fall...

I just love it! Don't you just want to shop here!?

So, this is Amy. She is fun, talented, adorable, and so genuine. I just love her. We will meet someday...we're hoping this is the year.

You must go check out her blog now...ok? Ok.

Blogging is so darn cool.

xo,

{alicia}