Before and After!

Little Prince HATES haircuts.  I do my best to hack away at his hair while trying not to freak him out.  It doesn't make for a great haircut but it makes him more presentable.  So today, I bit the bullet and did his hair.

This is my best attempt to cut his hair. He HATES it and it turns into a circus of me trying to avoid the grabby fingers while also trying to cut hair on a head that is hysterically pulling away. It isn't the best but he didn't cry toooo much so I will take it for now.  Oh well he loved the bath so that is something.

Here are a couple of pics him a couple of days ago before his cut:

And here is a pic of him contemplating the evil devices of torture (combs LOL) today after a bath and a haircut:

Now, I just have to get his fingernails cut and his grooming needs are taken care of.  I do NOT look forward to that!

Interesting Coincidence

I have thought about the fact that as a child, I moved a lot.  I didn't really mind.  And for the most part it was an adventure always heading out to more exciting places.  As an adult, it is tiring and a lot of work.  I also would like my kids to have the experience of having a home base, somewhere to come home to, somewhere to remember as the place they grew up. 

When I was thirteen, we stopped moving.  We stayed in the one town until the year I graduated high school.  Now I wasn't the oldest child, but I think it is an interesting coincidence that we are moving now and my oldest child is thirteen too.  Maybe this could be the gift I give my kids . . . the gift of stability.  A small town to grow in, to thrive in, and to be free and to be safe in.  I like the idea of Yarmouth being our home town. 

The idea of having building traditions and memories in one place is a lovely one.  I like the idea of small town Christmases, of summers at the waterfront and of making friends that we can build traditions with too.  I like the idea of organizing and planning my home for the future.  Of making somewhere my home and really digging in and getting comfy there.  I really long for that. 

It is easier to get used to the idea of leaving my friends behind, if I concentrate on the idea that this is our last town (maybe a new house at some point since I haven't actually seen this one, but in this town!).  My kids deserve stability and maybe this can give it to them.  And maybe I can give it to myself too. 

Gratitude Sunday

Sunday's heart felt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful.

Here are some things I am grateful for this week:

1. Sunlit days with sweet declarations for the love of spring.

2. People who take the time to beautiful their neighborhood.

3. Quiet moments with a book

4.  Donating 8 big bags of things to charity.  It feels good to get it out of my house!

5.  Silly girls who make me laugh.

5.  Little girls who adore their little brother and a baby boy who loves his big sisters. 

6.  When too much fun with his sisters causes cute little boys to fall asleep over their lunch.

7.  Blanket nests in the middle of the floor to cuddle in and watch a movie.

8.  Sweet sleepy baby boy who needs a haircut almost as much as he needs the dinner I woke him up to eat. 

On Pins and Needles.

 On Monday, I am hoping to find out when I will get to move into my new home.  It is hard for this uber-organized person to be in limbo waiting to find out for sure.  I like to have a definite date so that I can make plans, book things, arrange things, prepare.  All the sorts of things a control freak like myself likes to do and has gotten used to doing with all of our moves.  If moving has taught me two things it is how to purge unneeded items and how to prepare for a move.

In the meantime, to keep from going crazy, I am packing.  My goal is that no matter how busy I am, no matter how tired I am from lack of sleep (3 hours last night, thank you adorable Little Prince!), I still have to pack at least one or two boxes.  Today, I even did seven!  Lack of sleep didn't stop me!  I am feeling good about what I have done.  I need to get at the boxes in our upstairs hallway, but I have a lot of things done.  I am glad that I have arranged for two separate landing zones for boxes that are not in our way and that are hidden so that I don't have to look at them.  The clutter would make me crazy!

Saturday Photohunt: RED

The Saturday PhotoHunt for this week is 'RED'.  This one was fairly easy for me.  I LOVE red.  It is my favorite color.  So there is LOTS of red in my life. 

This first one is of Little Prince in his red jacket. I love his smile in this pic.

The next picture is of my Mother's Day gifts.  My family knows that red is my favorite color and so there was lots of it there!

The next picture is of the little girls helping me mix cupcake batter in a red bowl.

And of course there was red in the Valentine's Day pictures I took this year:

And finally there was red in the Christmas pics I took:

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This Moment

A beautiful and fun Friday ritual. Inspired by SouleMama.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. – Amanda Soule

I felt like I had to come back and edit my post when I realized that this was the last 'This Moment' post.  Here is a link to August 24, 2012 to my very first shared 'This Moment' post.

Throwback Thursday

#TBT

For my Throwback Thursday Post today, I decided to go back to the May 2012.

My babies were all so sweet back then.  It amazing how much difference three years can make.

Princess Belle was my 10 years old big girl.

Princess Magpie was a sweet 3 1/2 year old cutiepie.

Princess Snifflefritz was 2 1/2 year old bundle of sweetness.

And Little Prince was only 2 months old and was truly my littlest baby.

I also went back to a post this week in 2012 called, "Little Things"

I also linked up at: 

Wordless Wednesday: Sisters

Click the pic above to get to other Wordless Wednesday Participants or go check out the following links:

Wordless Wednesday, 5 minutes for mom, Ms. Mystery Case, Tales of a Pee Dee Mama, Only Passionate Curiosity, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Image-In-Ing and Stacys Random Thoughts!

And a little smile for this lovely day: 

Book Review: IMAGINARY THINGS by Andrea Lochen

Title: Imaginary Things
Editor: Andrea Lochen
Publication: April 15, 2015
Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions

I was really excited to get the chance to read Imaginary Things by Andrea Lochen.  I have to admit, I was totally caught up in this story.  I took the book to the laundry mat with me and by the time I was done my laundry, I was also done my book!!!  I just couldn't put it down.

Imaginary Things is unlike any story I have ever read. When I picked it up, I expected a simple, magical story about a little boy and his make-believe friends. But, I found it to be so very much more than that. Anna is a young mother who is trying to do the right things for herself and her son, all while trying to protect her young child from the evil in their lives. But sometimes it's not so easy to differentiate between good and evil.  As Anna tries to understand what David's imaginary friends want and what they are trying to tell her, she has to work through what her own childhood imaginary friend meant to her. And who were the good guys in her youth? Who were the bad ones?

I truly loved this novel, it was filled with imagination.  I kept turning pages just to find out more bout the little boy who can see and talk to his imaginary friends, (big extinct lizards) and his mother who also can believe in his imagination. I also loved the themes of the book; motherhood, returning home and how at times it is so important to be fearless and how they were dealt with in such a realistic and profound way.

The book is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and you can check it out on Astor + Blue’s site. Add it to your TO READ list on Goodreads! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it!  Also pick up her other book ‘The Repeat Year‘ and add it to your reading list too! 

You may find out more about the author, Andrea Lochen at her website HERE!

Purging.

One thing I like about moving is getting the chance to go through my belongings and purge all of the things we no longer need or use.  I have been going through all sorts of things in my house and so far I have a HUGE pile of bags and things to donate.  A charity is coming by tomorrow to pick them up and it will feel good to get this stuff out of my house and into the hands of people who can use them.

The girls went through some of their toys with me and we came up with a full bag of toys to donate.  Princess Magpie was quite willing to donate, Princess Snifflefritz was a bit harder to convince.  She is my little pack rat and would keep everything she ever had if she could get her way.  LOL

I am also amazed at how much my kids have grow in the last year.  As I went through their summer clothes from last  year, I noticed that none of the clothes I had for the girls still fits them.  Although, Princess Snifflefritz can wear the ones that Princess Magpie wore last year so that is nice.

Here are a couple of pics of the donation pile.