random bria - three things.

Thing #1 - The Apple Crisp that I baked yesterday made for a very tasty breakfast.

Thing #2 - I'm beyond excited to get away tomorrow.

Thing #3 - The Matt Epp show that James and I went to last night rocked my socks.

Do yourself a favor and listen to his music here.

time to myself.

Life has been a bit quiet these past couple of days! My wonderful mother-in-law whisked away my children on Sunday so I could get a much needed break from the bum changing and the question answering and let me tell you, it's been delightful. I'm looking forward to seeing them in a few hours because I never quite know what to do with myself when the kids are gone. Whenever I get a break for more than a minute (though few and far between) I always end up suffering from feelings of uselessness for part of the time. Am I the only mother afflicted by this? *Please let me know if you have similar feelings as it might help me deal better*

Anyways, James and I were able to go out for dinner, ice cream and a late movie which helped me to feel semi-normal again. Yesterday I was able to fully follow my own schedule and did whatever my little heart desired, which didn't include washing the dishes. Bliss. Today I went to the dentist and then to my hairdresser to get a much needed haircut. I feel new again. The cherry on top will come Friday evening when my mom is treating me to some time away from the kids, the husband, and the house. We are getting in her car and driving down to Grand Forks for the long weekend to do some shopping, eating, golfing and a bit more shopping. I'm so excited I can hardly bear it. (You know you need a break when Grand Forks and golfing is making you hyperventilate! Seriously.) Life has been so stressful and hectic these past few months that I'm looking forward to getting away (even if it is only a 3 hour drive) and just being me for a little while. I find that it's so easy to loose myself in the hub-bub of everyday life, especially when there are little people that need you non-stop. It will also be nice to have a conversation with my mom without being interrupted 109 times! Ha.

So here is my new hair and I just love it...

(and yes, it is a vanity shot but I'm sure you can deal with it. wink.)

ammie screams for ice cream!

Yesterday my little girl turned 2! I still can't believe that I'm out of the baby years...for now. We decided to throw an Ice Cream Birthday for Amelia since it seems to be her favorite thing these days. I'm not exaggerating either, she'll jump up and down yelling "Oooooo" if I tell her she can have ice cream after dinner. She also tries to get back into the ice cream shop to get another cone every time we go to Sub Zero...the kid is obsessed. Anyways, it seemed to me that Ammie had a grand ol' time eating ice cream before dinner, opening gifts and seeing all of the people she loves to bits. Here are a few pictures from her big day.

Ice cream cone #1Me, enjoying some strawberry ice cream with strawberry coulis on top. Yum.

Ice cream cone #2

Ammie with her new best friend (not sure why, but Ammie is IN LOVE with cats!)

New heels.

Ammie is going to be moving into a big bed and getting her soother taken away soon, I can't wrap my mind around how fast these past two years have gone by! Some days it feels like someone broke into our house in the middle of the night and replaced my baby with an overgrown two year old. I might just have an emotional mommy moment when we take the crib apart.

Sigh.

On a stranger note, Amelia got a toy from her Grandma that can be used for pretty much whatever the kid wants (I'm thinking salad bowl) and Rhys has taken a liking to it...along with his uncle Garrett.

Monkey see

Monkey do.

in a miniature world.

Every once in a while I like to take a breather and stroll along the sidewalks of the Internet, eyes wide with wonder of all of the beautiful creativity that can occupy the different places. It could also be that I'm looking for things to distract me from having to sweep the floor for the fifth time that day, but the other way sounds a bit better. Today I stumbled upon one of the best tools for photography that I've found so far...making your pictures look miniature! Totally useless when you actually think about it, so don't actually think about it. Humor me and be as excited as I am over this whole new world of mini! Since there is no registration or sign-up fee I quickly uploaded a picture that I took a few days ago and now I have a picture of the miniature sized bakery at Victoria Beach. Can life get any better? I think not. Isn't everything so much cuter when it's pint sized anyways? You just want to wrap it up and take it home, don't you!??!

You can find the entertaining tool here.

our very first erskine family camping trip!

I can't believe that it's taken this long for us to get our act together but we finally did it! We went camping! The four of us had a blast sitting by the bonfire, roasting marshmallows, going swimming, and sleeping in the tent (even if there was a crazy thunderstorm). I'm excited for having many more camping trips as a family, especially after seeing that it is do-able with two toddlers. {And just as a side note, I must say that I love our truck! It works for camping on so many levels, but the best is that the back can be used as a change table. Very helpful when you've still got a kid wearing diapers.}

mini-me.

bubble.

I decided to haul out my good friend Prunella today. I can't remember the last time I actually sat down to sew something...which is entirely inappropriate, I should be a sewing whiz by now! Anyways, I wanted to sew something for my friends new niece and once that task was done I just kept going. I had picked up some cute fabrics with summer dresses in mind when James and I were in Fargo and, until today, they had been sitting neatly folded by my washing machine waiting to be cleaned and used. So today I am happy for two reasons: 1} I used some of the fabric to make Amelia a dress, 2} I made my very first (all by myself) piece of wearable clothing! I've been dreaming about this moment for years and years and years. Odd, I know. But when I was in high school I would pass time by sketching fashion designs and I even found that during my year of thrifting I would resort to sketching clothes when I couldn't go and buy them. I probably should have gone into fashion right out of high school...but you live and learn, right? I had been reading another mommies blog the other day when I came across a tutorial for making a little girls bubble dress. It was too cute to pass up, so I tried my hand at it and it actually worked. *happy bria*

I'm already excited to start making more things now that I've overcome my fear of diving into garment construction. I made some mistakes and there were a few things that I wasn't too sure about, but I learnt and next time I'll be that much better. Yay for the bubble dress!

{if you are equally as smitten as i was with the bubble dress

then you can find the tutorial here. }

i enjoy.

This afternoon, as I was brewing myself a cup of well deserved coffee, I started thinking about things that I enjoy. There are many special things that put a smile on my face so I decided to share a few...

*the smell of the peonies in my garden

*baking for people

*when my kids run around the sprinkler screaming

*when i've read a book and feel sad that it's over

*partaking in some wine drinking

*finding time during my day to be a little bit creative

*listening to Scott Nolan

*listening to Blue Grass

*buying my little girl a big ice cream cone, because that's when her smile is the biggest

*eating strawberries fresh from my garden

*having those moments when i realize that i AM actually good at something

*drinking coffee

*having a bon fire with my wonderful friend Jen, especially when it's accompanied by a big bowl of fresh fruit, a can of whipping cream, a bottle of wine, and two packages of Tim Tams (and talking looong into the night)

*seeing how creative other people can be

*taking 32 pictures of something and getting that 'gem' i was hoping for

what do you enjoy?

mr. erskine

now you are twenty six

the house still needs to be fixed

but what can i say?

i love you anyway

so happy birthday from me and the kids!

this is what summer is all about.

friends. bonfires. staying up late. camp outs.

{Oh, and by the way...HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG! You are 150 posts old!}

my life is a blur.

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{i sometimes forget what i did the day before...}