May 24, 2016

bottle it up

"A picture's worth a thousand words, 
but you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered...
you should've seen it in color"


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A few weeks ago one of my bests, Alexa, swung in for a super quick morning visit while she was in SC for a few days. She hung in our all of our craziness and didn't even bat an eye. It's such a treat to see her with my boys, especially since she lives in New York. It made me smile when she pulled out her camera and just snapped away. It's not often that I'm on the other end of the camera. 

I'll forever be grateful for these shots. They so encumber every aspect of what daily life with my three little guys is like: sleeping, big brother's hand-me-downs, eating snacks on the front porch (those "big mints" may have been bribery for pictures), workout clothes & a new favorite hoodie for mama + an unruly, wild mane, peeing in the yard, and bare feet all around. These are the days that I want to bottle up and remember way down the line when they're bringing home girls who will one day take my place as their main (female) squeeze, driving cars, playing sports, and eating us out of house and home. 

This is the good life we're living. #martinbandofbrothers, my heart will always smile on these days.



"...that's the story of my life, right there in black & white..."

|Jamey Johnson|




May 23, 2016

currently...

currently...

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reading: our trail blog book that i gave mike for Christmas a couple of years ago 

playing: at the park almost every day / night 

watching: The Hateful Eight 

trying: to drink (more) water 

cooking: no joke, hot dogs for dinner tonight 

eating: (still) dark chocolate covered espresso beans // Quest bars // (always) apple + pb 

drinking: black french pressed coffee 

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calling: no one, currently 

texting: mikey & kayla jean 

pinning: ideas for the white house // things to see & do for our late summer girls trip

tweeting: still not tweeting...

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crafting: recycled candles 

doing: work from home for a friend's office 

going: to the lake for a long weekend

loving: Trader Joe's

hating: that my littlest bud is colicky

discovering: new friends in our neighborhood 

enjoying: working on the white house with mikey 

hoping: the square photos i printed come in soon (thanks for the $10 off Parabo Press

celebrating: our newest niece, sweet Margaret Ellis Johnson (aka "May")

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smelling: Capri Blue Volcano 

thanking: Mimi & M for hanging with the boys so Mike & I can work at the white house together

considering: simplifying our summer menu 

finishing: ship lap (hopefully tonight / tomorrow) at the white house & moving on to floors 

starting: to add more ideas to the tattoo mere worked up for me last summer 

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May 16, 2016

big brother, little brother | may 2016

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these two. seeing glimpses of the sweetest friendship - today at Trader Joe's (our regular Monday outing) Solomon bumped his head while backing his buggy into someone else's and Amos promptly abandoned his buggy with all of my groceries in it to hug and comfort him. I wasn't the only one who noticed. 

ezra, i'm sure you'll be being drug tagging along soon ... 

we're becoming expert rock throwers, ant "quishers," bubble blowers and "pa-cycle" eaters. we're taking multiple walks to the park (any park) with daddy after work during the week. and, we're anxiously awaiting the re-opening of the fountains downtown. 

 the #martinbandofbrothers, The Kings of Summer, for sure


photo from Alexa who spent a quick morning with us recently. more of those soon. 

May 13, 2016

childhood unplugged | water balloon fun

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M recently gave us some water balloons & in an attempt to spend a few hours outside one morning this week I filled a bowl full of them & we spent a little while playing with them. Amos LOVED them ... Solomon (surprisingly) not so much. I loved watching Amos figure out different ways to bust them - my favorite: the slam dunk. Solomon was super sad when the first one he touched popped and wouldn't touch any more after that. I had a hard time making him understand that that was the fun of it when we try not to pop regular balloons (that you'll find floating around the house on any given day). Water balloons are definitely going to be in our rotation of things to play with this summer! 

We also LOVE bubbles around here. I've posted about playing with them before (here & here) -- seriously, if you're a mama and you and your littles don't play with bubbles on the reg, shame on you. (: Bubbles provide hours of cheap fun around here! AND let me let you in on this little secret: wet the deck / porch / bathroom floor (yes, we blow bubbles in the bathroom too) because bubbles will land on a wet surface and NOT pop! Score -- even MORE fun for your littles! You can thank me later! 


PS - What are fun outside things your littles are loving these days?! We're always searching for new fun things to do! 

May 10, 2016

celebrate | birthday love | haley

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We celebrated Haley's 27th birthday (also Cinco De Mayo) with a fitting dinner of perfectly cooked steak and chicken - Mexican style - and 2 cakes // a Hershey Bar cake and trés leches! 

Haley, I hope you felt loved and special and celebrated. You're a wonderful mama to that princess above. I've loved watching you fall into the roll of mama and getting to do it along side of you is one of my greatest joys. You're still a riot (I hope Sadie gets that from you ... just not your sailor mouth (: ) and one of my very best friends. Thanks for always listening, always making me laugh and for loving me and all of my craziness. Love you always, Boo Boo. 

May 5, 2016

loving lately

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$3 Trader Joe's bouquet
square photos 
impromptu craft morning with the boys (Ezra was just 2 weeks old!) 



**25 free square prints from Parabo Press if you're a new customer with code: FIRST...just pay shipping!


Also, this is not a sponsored post, I just LOVE free anything ... thought I'd share the awesome deal! 

May 3, 2016

a |short| letter to my biggest boy

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Dearest Mikey-Mike-Mikerton,

Thanks for loving me always. I love being on this adventure with ya! Thanks for getting down & dirty in the mud (run) with me and for pulling crazy long night hours working at the white house by yourself on top of your full-time job and for dreaming and planning with me. You're a special one, and I'm glad that you're mine only! Cheers to nightly family walks, park dates, crazy / stupid runs and the beginning of another summer together. 

All my love always,

mc mc 


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May 2, 2016

mama & her (little) boys

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Amos 3.5
Solomon 1.5
Ezra 5 weeks

Boys, thanks for being patient with mama (& daddy) as we're learning life with three of you! So far you all have been champs.