fresh picked whimsy

Happy birthday girl

Words cannot possibly express how beautiful the party was that my family threw for me last weekend.  And, honestly, it wasn't even possible to capture it properly on film, either.  To me, it looked like a posh celebrity event you would see on the pages of InStyle.  Just gorgeous.  My sisters and Mom began planning it months ago.  It was held in my sister, Susan's backyard...which is just so pretty with gardens and canopies of tree branches.  They blew me away...it was intimate, lovely, personal and so very me...

My reaction when I arrived and walked into Susan's backyard...

They had linens on the tables and candles everywhere...the weather could not have been more perfect.  No humidity and crystal clear blue skies. 

Cocktail, anyone?

We feasted on wine & cheese, homemade lasagna and garlic bread and a dessert buffet of cannolis, chocolate mousse cups, dreamsicle dip and chocolate chip pound cake.  Nom nom nom.  My sisters and Mom worked so hard making all of this delicious food themselves.  Here they are in the kitchen getting the plates ready. 

As the sun went down, the candles and twinkle lights illuminated our gathering. 

We used flashlights so i could see what i was opening.  This was the big reveal when Anne gave me our award.  So exciting!

The icing on the cake was having my friends and family there to celebrate with me. 

Just had to share this beautiful bouquet of balloon flowers that my sweet friend Jane delivered to me for my bday. 

She made it for me!  How does she do that?  Such talent!

 

I'd like to thank the Academy...

I had an amazing 40th birthday weekend...celebrating with my friends and family.  I am still gathering pictures from my family and will post the details and pictures tomorrow from all the festivities.  I wanted to share with you a very special birthday gift I received from Anne Paluszny, my friend and author of our book.  Getting to the Heart of Complimenting received the Best in Juvenile Books- Pinnacle Print Award for the graphic design and printing of our book.  WOW!  She presented me with the trophy on Saturday (a secret she had been keeping from me for a week - even though we had lunch together on Wednesday!).  We are so proud and still hanging out on cloud 9!  Congrats, Anne...yay us!

What a thrill! 

Never forget...

Flag by by G, age 9

I will never forget the horror of that fateful day 8 years ago...and I will also never forget the unbelievable feeling of my country united...by patriotism and love.  There was an American flag hanging in front of nearly every home, strangers coming together, holding hands at candlelight vigils and sharing tears.  Political beliefs were cast aside as we all grieved and rallied together to proclaim to our enemies and the rest of the world "UNITED WE STAND!".  Sadly, we have lost sight of that unity in the eight years that have past. 

I pray for all the innocent souls we lost on September 11, 2001.  I am so thankful for the emergency workers who responded selflessly that day and for the service men and women who continue to fight for my freedom every day.  I will continue to pray for peace and keep the faith that God will bless my fellow Americans and God will bless the USA.

Life is short, so take a deep breath, don't look back and just do it...

A very special friend needed a pep talk this morning.  She inspired this quick little doodle.  Maybe you needed to hear it, too.  ♥

P.S.  Be sure to go back to Skip to My Lou again today to learn how to turn those "Latte List" FREE download printables into homemade notepads.  So simple, i just might have to give it a try...

To Super Moms everywhere, with love...

Erin, my super fabulously talented friend, of vale design, asked me to collaborate with her on a special exclusive FREE download to be featured on Skip to my Lou.  Over lunch one day recently, we brainstormed with our uber-organized super mom friend, Ashlee, about what we could create that would be handy for moms everywhere.  Ta-da!...here's what we came up with:

It's yours FREE if you skip on by to Skip to my Lou and click on the download...you will find 2 sheets per page.  Just print and cut on the dotted line and you're all set! 

It was so much fun working with Erin...all i did was doodle the coffee cup and she worked her genius design magic to create the list.  We have a little mutual admiration society going on. ♥ I have a feeling you'll be seeing more Erin & Lori projects in the future!  Enjoy!

Summer's last fling...

It's Labor Day weekend in the USA...traditionally, it's considered the last weekend of summer even though the first official day of autumn is still a few weeks away.  We've got lots of painting and house repairs on our agenda for the 3 day weekend, but we'll still manage to squeeze in a bbq and a little fun, too.  I hope your weekend rocks, too!  xo 

art appreciation

For my nephew, Sam's birthday yesterday, I painted him 2 canvases.  He's six years old.  When I was finished wrapping them up, I panicked a little bit because I wasn't giving him anything he could play with...no toys.  And, seriously, what fun is that when you're turning 6?  It's like giving a 6 year old boy clothes for his birthday...major bummer.  So, I quick ran to the storage room and found a foam disc shooter set in my stash of "emergency last minute kid bday presents" (do you have one of those?).  Phew!  When Sam opened his gifts from us...

to my surprise it was this gift that he loved the most and took it and ran all around the front yard holding it over his head...

Very sweet.  Happy Birthday, Sam.  xo  I decorated his cake, too...he sure does love that sponge!

I am...

• happy to have the sun shining today
• happy to be able to create every day with the gift He gave me
• happy to be loved by Mark so much ♥
• happy to have leftovers for lunch
• happy to receive such lovely notes from friends after my blog post yesterday
• happy to be the mom of these 3 awesome kids
• happy to not have to do laundry today
• happy to celebrate my nephew, Sam's 6th birthday today
• happy to paint something for him and to decorate his Spongebob cake
• happy to live down the street from my whole family
• happy to love my neighbors
• happy to work at home
• happy to be happy!

Heart on my sleeve

Warning:  hormonal mom rant...  My babies are growing up.  I've been feeling particularly emotional and vulnerable as a mom lately.  It's similar to the feeling that i had when K, R & G first went to pre-school and we were no longer fully in control of the influences in their lives.  They are all blossoming into these fantastic young people and I could not be prouder.  K & R have begun to spread their wings and i can sense a bit of detachment and independence...which is important and vital to them to be able to navigate their way through life.  I just can't believe that we are here...at this point in their lives.  How is it that they grew so quickly...in what feels like overnight?  I suppose my heavy heart can be attributed to the fact that I am just days away from turning 40, which is a reminder that my young mommyhood is fading.  I find myself envious of the moms with little ones in tow at the grocery store, even though ironically,  when I was knee deep in those days, I remember being envious of the moms who were able to get their shopping done much more efficiently because their kids were in school.  The Today Show had a segment on this morning about sending kids off to college for the first time.  I watched with tears streaming down my face because I am keenly aware that I am about to blink and 3 years will have passed and Mark and I will be sending K on her way.  It will no doubt be a proud, thrilling, exciting and heart-breaking event in our lives.  Forty-shmorty...it's just a number...I'm going to savor the next decade of my life and the joy my kids bring to it. ♥