family photo sesh 2014

Are you blessed to have a friend who is a photographer?

Dudes, there is no other way to do a photo shoot.  They don't judge your parenting or the way you do jumping jacks and silly faces to get your kids to smile.  They bring their husbands to watch make sure you baby doesn't eat grass.  They tell you when your hair looks stupid.  They're not afraid to come pull down your shirt that's riding up.  They also show you pictures as soon as they're taken, which helps for posing the next time around.

My photographer-friend Megan (different than my visitor Meghan) from high school was in town for 4th of July weekend and was completely fine with escaping getting away from her toddler for a couple hours to come out to our farm and take our annual family photos.  She did an amazing job and I could not be happier with them!

FYI:  I did not purchase new clothes for this shoot.  I grabbed what we had in the closet, and though it may be totally boring, it's so us.  In a good way.

Kind of obsessed with them!

Thank you so much, Megan!  We heart your work!

...And just for your viewing pleasure...a throwback to one of our engagement photos.

//Megan's Facebook Page
(She's in the Cincinnati area)

//family photos 2013
//family photos 2012

a nap time hair show

As my children slept this afternoon I somehow felt some inspiration to put on eyeliner and to blow dry my hair.  After that it just turned into an all around pinning, clipping, braiding hair show.  I even perused Pinterest - something I only do when I have real focus and an end product in mind.  In the search bar I typed teacher buns and braided do's and messy fishtails.  The results were impressive.  All I needed was a teen-aged neighbor to try it all out on, or maybe she could do my hair instead?  Whatever the case, I need one.

After taking these photos I realized that I never, ever look at the back of my hair before I walk out of the door.  It was amazing how different the style looked from that angle...I guess it's time to purchase in a handheld mirror because some of them looked waaaay better in the front or waaaay better in the back.

So without further ado (no pun intended), here are my attempts at styling my hair.

^ Definitely easy, but a little bit of a process.  It was worth it - it felt good on my head.  Does that sound weird?  I actually liked the braided pigtails on their own but I'm a bit of a Little Girl like that.  You can find the tutorial here.

^Not my favorite, but once again, I liked the side pony braid better than the end product.  I think I just needed to "puff" it up some more, or at least tease it before braiding.  The tutorial shows a fishtail braid (which improves the look) but sadly, I don't know how to do that.  This tutorial was blocked...just do a high pony, fishtail braid it, wrap it around and pin it.  Easy peasy.

^This was a bit of a failure but ended not too shabby.  It was an attempt at a "braid-into-a-bun" but I got frustrated and quit.  Gosh, your fingers start to hurt after a few minutes!  There is no tutorial - just try to french braid your hair to the side, give up and throw a hair tie in at your ear.

^Kind of a boring look but still looks put together, which is usually what I'm going for when I'm running out of time in the morning.  You can find the tutorial here.

^This looked a little sloppy from the front but was cute in the back.  I needed a lot more hairspray to get the look perfected.  And obviously I missed a piece of hair.  It's really, really time to get a handheld mirror...

Tutorial here.

^Ironically, my last bun was my favorite!  This was so so simple.  It also made me really happy.  The only issue was that it felt as though it would pop up in the back at any second.  I believe a second headband underneath would take care of that issue.  You can find the tutorial here.  P.S. - Her blog is adorable.

I hope you enjoyed my boredom at work!  

love, your very own non-hairstyler.

i had a visitor :)

Talk about a blast from the past.  Meghan hasn't been up to our house since I was pregnant with Patrick.  She stayed with us for two nights and it was s o  m u c h  f u n.

We went to dinner at a place on the water - the weather was perfection.  We also invited my sis-in-law Jackie, my mom and my grandma.  Many laughs later we headed out to our local tavern.

Meghan and I had many a "You know you're a Mom when..." moments over the couple days she was here.  One of them being as soon as we got into my vehicle and turned up Iggy's Fancy.  All the sound was in the front and the bass was all the way down.  Soooo... You know you're a Mom when... the sound in your car is catered to your kiddos fragile ears...

We danced and drank vodka tonics and even helped the bartender with an essay for her Master's class.

The next morning was hangover city, mainly because I got approximately two hours of sleep.  The perfect remedy?  Put on the greatest gift ever:  my very own Mean Girls crop top (a gift from Meghan).

Four for you, Glen Coco.  You go Glen Coco!

Wish she could've stayed for a week.  Or two.  Love her to pieces.

reno update

Jeff and I have been busy-busy working on our upstairs renovation.  It's been a little bit of a haul but it's all coming to a close now, the end is in sight!

Our initial problems started with the floors.  Then the walls.  And pretty much everything.  The contractor was trying to put up drywall and nothing was straight.  One day when I got home from work, he was leaving and we crossed paths.  I said, "How'd it go today?"  His answer was "Why don't you just tell Jeff to bomb the place and start over?"

Yikes!  Those old houses.

But we're almost done - it's happening!

You know how they say a renovation really tests a marriage?  Well Jeff and I have done really well...like, surprisingly well.  The only blowout we had was about the bathroom flooring.  I wanted tile.  Jeff wanted linoleum.  Just your basic high price/low price cat fight.  Guess who won?

So let's start from the beginning.  (Unfortunately, I kind of lost the "before" pictures).  The upstairs had three rooms - one large room and two small rooms.  We:

• took everything down to the studs, 
• put in new drywall with all new outlet locations and switch locations,
• installed all new electrical wiring,
• installed a completely new bathroom in the large room,
• pulled plumbing from one side of the house to the other,
• sanded the window frames and all the doorway trim,
• painted the window framed and trim,
• cleaned the windows, inside & out,
• painted all the walls (I'll tell you the colors once we're done)
• touched up mistakes,
• installed ceramic tile in the bathroom,
• installed wall-to-wall carpet (a medium plush) ---> Actually, this is in process as I type.

Wowza.  It seems like a lot (and it was) but when you have professionals doing what they do best, it makes all the difference in the world.  Jeff and I did all the painting ourselves - I outlined and he went behind me filling in.  It sucked, but it's done.

The only other "boring" things left are to put in the outlets and switches.  Then I get to decorate!

My sister-in-law was hard at work last week sanding Patrick's new twin bed.  It was actually Jeff's when he was a kid.  There's proof in the "Jeffrey Rowland" carvings all over it.  After that's finished being sanded, I'm thinking of painting it a light grey color.

That's it for now.  We're making a haul of a trip to Ikea next week for the bathroom vanity and other amazing and wondrous items to feast our eyes on.

connor @ 8 months

probably close to 19 lbs.

12-18 month clothes

size 5 diapers

you love:  grabbing bowls/cups/toast/berries off your brother's little table, putting things in your mouth that are dangerous, slapping patting things, pushing chairs/walkers/tricycles, eating, and riding in the stroller.

you hate:  sitting still for any reason at all, food that's too smooth, being rocked or held too long, and all your baby toys.

~~

This month's picture was by far the hardest to capture, little one!  You are on the move!  I think I took 20 photos and this one was the only was that wasn't blurry...but we got it.  You've got a couple different speeds for crawling now:  one for a general I don't care how long it takes me to get there and one for Daddy's home - hurry!  We love seeing you kick it into high gear - it's hilarious.

You really love to eat.  As soon as I set you in the high chair you start slapping the tray and happy-screaming.  We've done away with the purées - you were sick of the boring consistency.  You always liked the broccoli/carrots but were not too fond of the sweet potato/apple (or any that included fruit).  Instead, I've been mashing things like avocados, bananas, oranges and white peaches.  This has made you an extra good eater - you love the chunky texture.  You also have taken a liking to YoBaby yogurt, thank goodness.  It makes for an easy morning.

You're becoming a bit of a talker, trying out new syllables here and there.  Like most babies, the "da da da" came out easily in which your father screamed that's it - his first word!! but I proclaimed that in order for it to be considered a first word it must be used in context.  So a few days later when you crawled towards me saying "ma, ma" I concluded that was it.  MAMA!

The greatest part of this month is that you've been sleep trained...hallelujah!  Really!  At night you sleep from 6:30 pm - 5:30 am, waking once or twice to nurse.  I'm just not ready to give up all the night feedings - it's our bonding time.  Until you're a year (or however long you need) we will nurse in the middle of the night just once.  You've ditched your third nap, so during the day you nap from 8-9:30 and 12-2.  It rocks.

You're just a champ at life, dude.  We love you to pieces.

xoxo, Happy Eight Months.



{P.S. - Your brother wanted a "monthlie" as well...so here he is looking cuter than ever.}