Snug as a Bug in a Rug.

When all else fails, and le' baby won't cool his jets ... try this.

Or this.

Hey, don't knock it until  you try it.  And no judgement allowed unless you too have a screaming baby and have found a better solution that you would like to share with me.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

A couple of months ago when little man had to get some ultrasounds on his kidneys and the little rascal wouldn't settle down long enough to get adequate pictures, the US nurse tried a few things and taught mommy a few new tricks too ;)

She snagged a few warm blankets and wrapped them around the top of Bennett's head and like magic, Mr. Squirmer laid still!  Now, when I'm folding fresh out of the dryer laundry it's become one of Bennett's favorites to be all wrapped in daddy's warm t-shirts and I'm able to get a few things folded and put away.  And when things get REALLY crazy we throw in the swing aka the third parent.

Ahhhh the mom life ... behind the scenes can be so glamorous.

Smokey Mountain Munchkins

Good ole' Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee!

Last week our little family piled in my parents ridiculously awesome astro van and settled in for the long haul to make our trek to the Smokey Mountains ... with an impressive stop in Nashville too!

Long story short, my pops is a big time game fisher (like blue marlin and stuff) and has a fishing boat in the Bahamas, so he heads down for big tournaments and always comes back with crazy stories. His latest and greatest is a young fella he met at a tournament: Colton James.  He's an up and coming country artist and basically, dad's getting involved with the whole shebang.

So, we headed to Nashville for a full day of "laying some new tracks" (I learned the lingo) in the Ocean Way Recording studios. Thank heavens for the upstairs lounge area where BUBs snoozed away while the band kicked it up downstairs.

I've never seen that side of things ... SO cool. It took some serious self control to not touch all the BUTTONS! I'm such a child.

After a LONG day in the studio, we piled back in the car to head on to Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg had a dual purpose. One, we were just havin' a hollerin' good time with the babe on our first real trip. Two, Colton was shooting a music video for his song 101 Proof and we were gonna see some Hollywood movie makin' magic (so stinkin cool). 

After we checked out the music video and got lost for nearly 3 hours trying to find "the cemetery"

We decided it was time to actually see Gatlinburg and let Bennett be strolled and Bjorned until his little heart was content. 

Bahhh...the baby sunglasses and that hat. The cutest munchkin I ever did see. And his daddy's pretty cute too <3

We had such a great time ... a few more favorites:

And perhaps my most favorite of all ... Bennett fell asleep next to the real mountain river in PaPaw's arms. Gahhh. 

THE most precious. Ever.

And because no one is allowed to leave Gatlinburg without an old timey photo, we made sure to get one of those too. Just for good measure.

Until next time Tennessee. 

Perfect Petite Princesses

Bottom line: I'm embarrassed this post has taken me so long. In all honesty, I haven't posted about it yet, because I wanted to make sure I had ample time to explain and hash everything out. But, I'm realizing my life is and for a long time will be ruled by episodes of short spurts in between naps and feedings, so waiting around for a "good period of time" may never actually come. 
Funny, I'm even complaining about that with my sole child ... as the story I'm about to share with you will blow your mind. 

I know buddy, we were all shocked too.

Okay, so here's the deal. Remember my sweet princess Maebyn being born (wow, sorry for the length of that post back in the day, clearly it needed to be broken up into about 3 ... I was a newbie)? Or perhaps you remember here from this post, where you will also see her preggo momma. Well, she's no longer preggo and she didn't just bring one additional perfect babe to the world, she brought TWO! Two completely perfect, HEALTHY baby girls.

Correct, two absolutely perfect, beyond adorable, petite little princesses. Gah! 

So. 

Much. 

LOVE!

Here's another great note to mention ... Sweet Maebyn turned one year old on her Sunday birthday ... Her sissies? They were born on Monday. 

Yowwwza. 

MaKenzie, you are my hero. Like for serious. And I want to complain about my life being hectic. HA!

I was horrible at documenting the twins story, but lucky for you, their incredible Daddy did all of that work for us. He's got a fabulous stay at home dad blog you should check out sometime. The twins were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion and much of MaKenzie's pregnancy was in a state of uncertainty, and the outcome of the twins was constantly in question.  Ross and MaKenzie's strength, love and faith throughout the diagnosis was ROCK SOLID. 

They are such a great example to me and everyone, or anyone for that matter who is in need of some inspiration. Or if you're looking for a real life story with a happy ending ... I've found your book.  I truly encourage you to read their story.

And take a moment to gawk (pictured left to right) Maebyn, Larkyn and Truette. A little excerpt in regards to the names, more can be found here:

"When MaKenzie and I were trying to determine the names for the twins, we looked back on what this journey has meant to us and both decided we really wanted to give each girl a name that meant something and held significance, so that they both would remember and never forget what happened even before they were born. The name Larkyn means “to be crowned in victory” and the name Truette (our little “True”) we wanted to represent truth. Together, the girls names tell the story of what we believe it really means to be “crowned in true victory”… a display of God’s direct intervention and healing touch when all else around pointed to an inevitable loss. We wanted their testimony to be shared." 

Sending lots of love to my sister from another mother, and introducing for the first time on my blog ... the most perfect three little sisters you ever did see.

Ice Cream Cone Head Candy!

A while back I posted about my sweet niece Emmie's 5th birthday party.  I was charged with handling some decor for the Ice Cream themed party and was able to come up with some cutesy decorations thanks to some Pinterest inspiration. And, today I wanted to share my take on the Ice Cream Cone Headband.  

Most of the designs used an actual ice cream cone. And, although I will say that certainly looks more authentic, the reality of a 5 year old (or any youngin' for that matter) not crushing the flimsy waffle cone is a bit far fetched. 

I knew she needed a party hat, even if its sole purpose was to wear it for 5 seconds while blowing out her candles.  And once I saw some ice cream cone headband samples I was set on finding a sturdier alternative.  Challenge accepted!

Supplies needed:

• Paper Mache cone
• Any headband
• Felt
• Hot glue / gun
• Pipe cleaners
• Ribbon
• Cotton ball or other end piece

Directions:

Get all of your goodies ready to go!  Any color scheme is accepted and this can be tweaked, embellished, or repurposed for another theme for years to come!

I chose to use 3 layers of felt, because I wanted to mimic 3 melted scoops of the goodness (and because I always want at least 3 scoops). Simply cut the felt in various sized circles and layer them so you can see all of the colors.  I hot glued all of the layers together before I attached them to the headband. To make sure I liked the placement.

Next cut a small rectangle and securely attache the rectangle underneath the headband to the bottom layer of felt.  I wanted mine at an angle, so I attached it more towards the right side.

Now it's time for the cone.  I hot glued the embellishment ribbon prior to attaching the cone to the top layer of felt. 

I left a little additional ribbon at the bottom of the cone, so once I attached the cone to the felt the additional ribbon would cover up any glue that spilled out the sides. Simply hot glue the bottom of the cone to make sure it is secure on the top layer of felt. 

And that's the basics my friends. Now, its time to embellish!  I started by simply adding a glittery cotton ball to the top :)

Next, I added some glittery pipe cleaners to give some extra pizazz.  I simple put small slits in the second layer of felt.  The allowed the folded bottom the pipe cleaner to be easily hid and tucked away, while the top side was ready for swirly fun!  I simply rolled them around a tumbler stray ... a pen/pencil will give you the same effect.

And to finish it off, I added some cute ice cream stickers and a felt #5 for the birthday girl!  

So cute, and so easy! And what kid doesn't love sporting ice cream not only smeared on their face but also on their head?!