mantel & moments

finally, i am sitting down at my own computer pulling my thoughts together and trying to remember our summer. the past few weeks have been hectic in a wonderful way. our son turned 3, lovely family visiting, a quick vacay to California, blessed by a 5th nephew and all the little projects that are near completion in our nest. the boy's room and play room are just about ready for their big reveal...until then here is my mantel at the moment.

i am crazy about my bistro chair..i have been searching for more but no luck.

a rose from my garden in the perfect hobnail vase

i always forget the name of this flower..but they are truly one of my faves to buy for the home. they will last up to 3+ weeks if you keep the stem trimmed and give them fresh water. these yellow beauties are cheappies compared to other flowers that wilt within a few days.

the 4 is to symbolize our family of 4..just in case i forget!!

if you must know..the books and hobnail glass vases are from goodwill. the "4" is from a local antique shop.

oil cans..they also look amazing with fresh flowers in them.

my little boy max.

my Lil assistant at my legs while i was snapping pictures. i simply couldn't resist taking a few of him. he has a scratch from the cat on his face but i can hardly blame the cat..he finds it amusing to pull her tail and smack her in the face. mighty max has been doing this for awhile and doesn't seem to care of the consequences. i am sure that will be brought up more as he gets older!!

my parent's took his big brother Nathan to the beach house for 5 whole days and 4 nights..(not that i was counting) before max and i arrived to join them. Nathan and i soaked up every moment with max since it was his and our first time spending time together as just the 3 of us (well..since his birth). i was worried he would miss his brother and i truly believed he did by the way he held him and gave his big brother a kiss on the cheek at the airport which was one of the greatest mom moments. max sure did love having all of our attention and all of the Thomas the trains to himself. i on the other hand felt like a piece of my heart was missing without Lil Nathan but couldn't believe how quickly we could get ready for the day and out the door with just one kid in tow. 

so many moments i will never forget and so many moments would of never occurred if it wasn't for big bro being away. we really got to see max as the once baby now toddler being his independent self. what i mean is when you have 2 little ones very close in age a lot of things go unnoticed but when you are alone with just one of them you begin to notice little things about them you never saw before. max is also 19 months old and is just bursting with personality all of his own!! let's just say they boys are complete opposites!!

this was a big eye opener for me and made me realize to sit back, enjoy all the small things because one day the house will be empty and i  won't be stumbling over a Thomas, Henry, Percy, James, Harold, Rosie, Bertie, Gordon or diesel the train. i think all boys love..love...love Thomas the train and all his million train friends that we are acquiring. can't help it, but i  kinda enjoy putting together the train tracks and building a mini soder town! i also must confess i sometimes will set up a new track after the boys go to bed so when they wake up it is ready, different from the day before..i feel so much better now that i got that out :)

anyway..spending quality time with the boys and as a family has to be one of the most important things to me. you could never spend too much time with your kids making memories..right! 

Max's little flintstone feet.

A mother holds her child's hand for a little while but holds their hearts forever. 
-- Author Unknown

have a happy happy weekend!!

make a moment happen!!