know what goes well together?

pigtails & donut holes.

first piggies

i

am

in

love.

things that stink...

the GRE.
stressing out about the GRE.
& trying not to cry @ starbucks when you realize you bombed your practice GRE.
(boooo!)
things that don't stink...

this was a public service announcement from holland harp.

i call this one...

i call this picture "italian vacation"
because it looks like the h's are in a tiny sports car, zooming around rome, eating pasta & basking in the sun.

like in old movies.

i've never been into old movies.  like "roman holiday".  have you seen it?

maybe i've been missing out???

i think the last old movie i saw was in 5th grade when meredith mason williams came over to spend the night & convinced me to rent "pillow talk" with doris day.

seriously.

if you know meredith, you won't @ all be surprised that she watched movies like pillow talk @ age 12.

haha!

do you have a favorite old movie?

ps:  clint & i caught a few scenes of "overboard" the other day!!!  i'm not sure that's quite an old movie yet, but OHMYGOSH!  we laughed so hard & couldn't believe we ever sat through the whole movie (500x).

dress up day

on monday we got a shipment of clothes from our favorite store - seba handmedowns!  our sweet friends, the sebas (hi ruth!) have a son & a daughter, each about 1 yr older than hudson & holland.  for several years now we've bought all of their handmedowns & sometimes i think it might be the best idea i ever had. 
ruth & i agreed on a price that was a great bargain for me* & also meant ruth didn't have to deal with resale shops (so frustrating to iron & hang everything, then get it all in the shop & only get to sell whatever they'll take, oh & also only seasonal stuff!).  i don't care if the clothes are ironed & even if a few have small stains, i know my kids will add to that stain collection :)  & i love mixing & matching the clothes with other stuff we have - it's a challenge to the creative brain!
usually i wait until the littles are sleeping to delve into organizing all of the clothes, but this time they were curious to see what was in the boxes, so i just went for it - setting the boxes on the floor & organizing while they went through pulling out what appealed to their creative eye & having an impromptu dress-up session.  @ some point in the chaos & mess, i set up a mirror for them, which doubled the fun - especially for miss holland.  the whole thing was crazy, but so fun.  my favorite times with hudson & holland are when we make whatever everyday task we're doing into a fun adventure.  it's a challenge, especially when the adult in me just wants to avoid mess :)

*thanks to the sebas for making our dress up morning possible!  ha!  & also for just giving us this last shipment of clothes - so sweet of you guys :)

cooking with holland

laundress

holland pushing clothes into the dryer...







& ready for more...



she takes her job as head "push the clothes into the dryer" woman very seriously. so seriously that sometimes she gets mad @ me when the clothes are dry & I'm taking them OUT of the dryer.

NO! All clothes must be pushed INTO the dryer, always!

you have to love a woman who takes her laundry seriously.

a day

*sweet picture hudson took of me through instagram

so i woke up yesterday thinking it would be a nice, slow kind of day.  we'd spent the weekend+ working like mad dogs on the website & i thought monday we would slow down a bit, revel in the fact that we'd finished the website (!!!) & at the least do a little cleaning.

it's weird how my kids didn't support that notion.  cleaning?  no, that's boring.  slow down?  why?  that's boring.  they begged for a backyard swimming session & finally i agreed, ignoring the dust bunnies & past dinner crumbs stuck to the floor.  so okay, we'll play outside for awhile & THEN i'll clean.  that's when we discovered that the washer was broken.  BUM.  *note to self:  quit complaining EVER about laundry because girl, at least you have a washing machine!!!  so all of that dirty laundry from the weekend just stayed right where it was piled (lovely!).  we did lunch as usual & the typical hudson "you're crazy for even mentioning nap time" routine ensued.  thankfully holls still naps really easily.  i was determined to clean something, so decided to give the sparkle treatment to the kitchen (inspired by c.jane).  i cleaned that kitchen floor on my hands & knees & took NO prisoners!  take that, crazy day!

the day had a few more ebs & flows & then ended in me finding holland asleep in throw up @ 10pm last night.  (i believe i've mentioned before (ahem!) how my kids partake in the weirdest of activities involving puking & going right back to sleep.)  (i believe i've also metioned how i feel about this - AHHHHHHHHHHHH!  SO grosssssss.  & also AHHHHHHHHHH, so freaky dangerous for my kids.)

so the night ended with what's become a real routine for c & i.  i mean we know how to clean up middle of the night throw up messes like nobody's business!!!  seriously, i'm thankful holls is okay & as usual, it's just one of those weirdo throw ups my kids love to do.  btw:  she's not sick, just threw up the milk she drank right before going to bed.  *note to self:  NO MORE MILK BEFORE BED.  & i also have to add that this little "ish" is so much easier to deal with now that holland is older & will eat something other than just another bottle of milk because EW!  who wants a bottle of milk when they've just thrown up!

i appreciate you listening to my semi-coherent rant.  i'd like to add that we launched our website & you can see it here.

thank you very much, i'll be here all week.

bebeee!

holland looooves babies. 
LOVES.  THEM.
loves them in books, loves them on tv, loves them in real life.  "bebeee!!!", she squeals when she spots any young looking babyish little one.  this can be problematic.  once she squealed "bebeee!!" to an older boy.  he, not realizing she meant this as a tremendous compliment, gave us all a disapproving once over & announced, "I'M THREE.".
hollands' baby obsession all but got us kicked out of the library the other day.  she wouldn't leave the babies alone, even dive bombing them from my arms.  in my retelling of the baby theatrics to clint, we realized there was a need to reintroduce little miss mommy holland to the lone baby doll in this house.  the one she got from her cousin last year (THANKS, KAEGEN!)

i found it & called the little mama, saying "hollland!!!  look what this is!!!".  "beeebeeeeeee!!" she announced, pleased as punch.  a teeny "beebee"!!  she took that baby & with a grin kissed it over & over.  at least i'm pretty sure they were kisses.  they weren't bites, were they?  no, let's think of them as kisses...
:)

**announcement:  our Harp Design Co site is going LIVE on monday!!  yipppeeee!!!  i'll post a link here on monday...

we interrupt the regularly scheduled program...

to bring you...

holland amelia

& her crazy nap hair.

*carry on*

lollipop love

but don't worry...

this way you can share!

when you're 4...

big trucks are rreallllly awesome.












& rreallly loud.
hudson (capital H)HATES loud noises. the vacuum cleaner, blender, coffee grinder, bathtub spigot. he's kind of a loud noise primadonna. if we dare touch that vacuum or run the bath water, hands slam over his ears & he glares. oh that glare!


this makes his love for trucks & lawn equipment problematic. you can see the anguish in his eyes when encountering heavy machinery in action -
oh! It's a big truck(happy, happy)! oh! it's SO LOUD (NOT happy, happy).


i remember being 4 & being pretty fascinated with our big, red tractor (yes, i had a brief stint as a quasi-farm girl, did i ever tell you?). also i was so totally terrified.

it was so big & awesome (wow)!
BUT
it was so big & awesome (gasp).


i was proud of him for watching the big truck so closely today, despite the noise (& okay, there was that fence keeping the scary thing @ bay, but still!). he's getting a little better about the vacuum cleaner.

it's an experience to see the little guy conquering a fear.
even if it's in baby steps, i'm proud :)
& really inspired.


(here, i must also mention holland, who runs after the vacuum cleaner, begging to "help". no fear? what is fear? lord, help me.)

real women

real women wear bathing caps.

& eat tonka trucks.

pool babies 2011

pool babies 2010

pool babies 2011

{the above pic makes me giggle}

this weekend our neighborhood pool opened, which is to say hudson's greatest wish came true. he adores the water & even more so after discovering the magic of goggles halfway through last summer. it's not even that they keep water out of his eyes (they constantly fall off), he just loves them for their plastic, eyewear selves.

the child can't get enough of jumping off the side & swimming to the nearest adult (hopefully mommy/daddy).

not to be outdone, guess who tried to do the same thing?

That's right. little sister will not be upstaged, thankyouverymuch.

the girl tried her darndest to keep up with hudson. & if it weren't for the annoying issue of not being to breathe underwater, she probably could have.

that whole breathing thing was really cramping her style.

funny little gal.

right now

good morning, monday

she won't eat...

she won't eat...

cookies, crackers, or puffs.

apples?
no.

toast?
no.

peas?
no.

dirt?

yes.

tiny dancer

remember this tiny tutu'd baby?

uh-oh

she found the tutu again...

*newborn tutu pics taken by stephanie coffelt.

fresh blooms

fresh blooms

in the shop...

target brand "cherokee" tee with sweet neck & sleeve detail.  i usually use {american apparel} tees & onesies, but i don't care for their girls short sleeve tees.  these are thick, a little stretchy & i love the feminine detail.
sweet.
simple.
graphic.
$22 here.

happy weekending, everybody.

the truth

***hey to everyone coming over from brooklyn homesteader. & if you didn't come from brooklyn homesteader, hey guess what?

i'm guest posting over @ brooklyn homesteader!***

naps are hard.

*this is a public service announcement from holland harp.

is this safe?

is this safe?

how about this?

better standing?

no?

***all silverware used in photo session was clean.  i think.