This smile could melt steel. It usually takes some coaxing but saying the word, “baby” in conjunction with my goofy face usually makes him bust one of these out. Makes me squeal every time!

Did everyone have a good weekend? I tell ya what, I never really thought much of weekends since I stay at home with the boys and didn’t appreciate them like others did, but I am growing to love the weekends so much. Watching Tim spend time with the boys and us doing more as a family - it’s so great. We’ve recently begun celebrating the Sabbath all day on Sunday. We don’t do any work (which at first drove us both crazy - me wanting to vacuum and clean and Tim wanting to catch up on any work from the week) but it’s gotten much easier and we look forward to it so much. We don’t do any work or go anywhere where people are paid to be, forcing them to work on the Sabbath. Saturday afternoon before and after dinner we finish up projects and chores so that on Sunday once we get home from church we just spend it as a family, doing any and everything that doesn’t accomplish anything. Some days we just watch TV, others we won’t even turn the TV on. We all take naps or read, play cards or make stuff but we do it together and while it is a discipline to learn to slow down and take a whole day of rest, God wants us to do that and in return we start the week refreshed and have also nurtured our family connection as well. I highly highly recommend it!

Okay, now the for the entertainment portion of this post: Maxed out, the documentary - You. Must. Watch! It’s all about the pressures and politics of credit and debt and oh my gosh is it eye-opening. At the end Tim and I were just shaking our heads, saying over and over how we MUST teach our kids about credit and debt. Not that we weren’t taught that - we were - but it’s just a whole lot more and a much bigger problem than it was for us 15 years ago. And when they talk about the national debt, it’s terrifying.

Okay, let’s lighten this up a little before I say buh-bye - look at what I made for ME!

I made the clutch about a year ago and in the hustle of the making clutches for everyone else, I never finished it. So I fished it out of my project box, finished the bird and the lining and now I have my very own clutch! I’m going to be doing a giveaway here in a few weeks to celebrate my blog-ivesary so stay tuned if you want to snag one for yourself.

Either you guys are as stumped as I am, or you’re holding out on me! I guess the bedroom and it’s furniture will further remain an enigma to me. And as for the Snuggle review…well, yes I sold-out to do a review but here’s a good reason why. So please forgive me - I am the Jewel of the blogosphere. Moving on.

Gilmore Girls. Totally hooked! Some of my good girlfriends have gone on and on about this show and how funny and witty and charming it is. So after being lent the entire series by my trusty friend Erin, I am now well into Season 2 and dying to know what happens at the end (okay, not dying so much anymore since I already Googled it and found out - I know, I know, it’s how I operate people - don’t judge me!). A couple things: It is a very chatty show. I get to rewind it a lot because if I’m not paying attention for a second I miss a whole lot. And don’t get me wrong, I think Rory is cute and sweet and full of charm, but is her town that small that three different guys (two of which I would consider “hot” and “unattainable” to most) are into her? Quite a few aspects about this show are rather unbelievable but I will keep watching until I’m through with the last disk.

I am growing more and more in love with Max everyday. Just when I think it isn’t possible to love him any more than I do, I wake up the next day and what do you know - more love! He’s so great. And he’s getting so chunky, I love it. He’s also turning into quite the chatterbox and let’s out the most delicious coo’s. I missed that the most when Conner stopped with the soft cooing and then started screeching so getting to hear that wonderful throaty sound again I love!

And another benefit of having a baby in the middle of the summer besides all the cute maternity sun dresses I got to wear - fall is almost here! Having a toddler and a newborn will keep you running so much that most days you don’t know what day of the week it is, much less when the month changes. So imagine my delight when yesterday morning I realized we were halfway through August, and our wacky Virginia weather has taken a turn in my favor and the mornings have been cool and the days not as warm. LOVE IT! I really do. I feel like our dog, like I want to run circles and roll around on my back in the yard. I know I will really fight that urge once the cool, crisp fall air sets in, which is right around the corner!

As the furnishing of our new house comes to a close, I realize I only have a few rooms left and the bedroom is next on the copping block. I have curtains up, new bedding bought, paint picked out, wall art ready to be hung but before I get to assembling any of that I must figure out furniture placement. Here’s where my joy and love of decorating comes to a close. This part I don’t do so well with. So I am hoping some of you can help.

Below is a simple diagram of how it looks now (yes, this is what I am currently using my graphic design major for). Something about all of it isn’t jiving.

We really like having the bed in between the two windows, so I’d really like to keep that the same. And the dresser is larger than most, measuring 52″ across, so that feels a little awkward where it is. Most of you will see that space to right of the bathroom door and say, “Well why not put something there?” Good suggestion! However, I neglected to show it on the diagram but that wall is level with the rest of the wall for about 32″ out, and then it cuts back about a foot to then become level with the rest of the hallway wall. Make sense? Basically, only something that is 32″ in length will be able to fit there (and unfortunately the armoire is longer than that as well). So what do you think? Should we ditch the idea of keeping the bed in between the windows for more flow? Or does it look okay the way it is? I am at a loss, really. I hate this part of decorating.

A few weeks ago I got another email in my inbox of someone trying to give me free stuff. Don’t you just hate that? Yeah, me too. So I said sure, go ahead and send it on, rain down your free goodies on me. The item this time around was Snuggle Fabric Softener with FRESH Release. Nothing too exciting…or so you think. Turns out I am very passionate about my laundry. The way it looks, the way it feels, how it is folded and oh the way it smells…love me some good-smelling laundry! I have been known to roll around in it.

So when the box arrived I ripped into and after the first load I think I fell in love. One thing that I noticed right away about Snuggle Fabric Softener with FRESH Release was the smell. It wafted out of the laundry room and caressed my nostrils (told you I was passionate about my laundry) and I knew that this product would be finding it’s way into my shopping cart the next time I was at the store.

It smells so good. I mean soooooo good. So good, in fact, I truly hope I can give up wearing perfume because the stuff I like is expensive anyways and this is not. Mere cents per load, actually. I opened the washer and was hit with a clean-smelling load of whites and crossed my fingers that it would get better with the dryer sheets, which it did! Their product copy states, “With FRESH release, Snuggle reawakens your senses with little lifts of just washed freshness every time you move all day long. All you need to do is simply make a move and feel the freshness.” And after I slipped a freshly-laundered t-shirt on, I could smell the freshness every time I moved (which honestly isn’t much - I’m still nursing a six week old twenty times a day, but I think he likes the smell too. It beats smelling my deodorant…or the smell of my deodorant not working.)

And they feel just as soft, too. It didn’t leave a filmy residue on your skin or on the fabrics like other liquid softeners do, it just made them feel super soft, light and fluffy. I normally don’t use fabric softener because honestly I didn’t feel it was necessary, but I might reconsider that stance on just the smell alone. And maybe the mascot - this is a face you can trust, right?

Which leads me to possibly a con - not the face, the smell - it’s very smelly. Makes me wonder what kinds of fragrances and fillers are in it. But I didn’t wonder too long but if you’re not too keen on your laundry smelling a lot, or you have allergies this may not be the product for you. However, if you like your clothes feeling light and fluffy from the dryer and smelling heavenly, then this is the fabric softener for you. I can’t wait to wash my sheets in this stuff!

*The opinions expressed on this site are those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by FOX, 19, Dick Clark Productions, or Snuggle”

First of all, I must say again how flattered and humbled I am that you all stop by this little corner of the internet to read about me and my family. Some days I wonder why I still blog, especially when it’s been almost two weeks since my last post, and who is really interested in hearing what I’ve been up to anyways? Then I get a concerned call or email from my mother-in-law, wanting to know if everything is okay because I haven’t blogged (love you, Karen!). This is what technology and new media has brought us to. I actually don’t mind - I hate talking on the phone anyways. So to blog or not blog and still have people (new and old-faithfuls) comment is so encouraging and I don’t ever get tired of hearing from you. So keep ‘em coming!

Okay, moving on to other fun stuff - pictures! I feel so lucky to have some sweet hook-ups with not only people I know, but people I love. So when Kelly offered to take some baby and family pics of us once Max arrived, I got very excited and the woman did not disappoint!

We agreed that this was our favorite

Another set of beautiful blue eyes in the house

“We shall call him, ‘Max the Great’”

and here we are testing the physical limitations of the crib

True life, this picture

The baby-daddy - he still makes me swoon

Love them! We had so much fun and we all laughed a lot - if you don’t have friends who are amazing photographers I recommend you go out and make some, pronto! There were so many to choose from and obviously not all of them are here, but they are here if you want to check the rest out. Ryan and Kelly are a fantastic photog pairing, but Kelly can certainly hold her own. Thank you so much, Kelly - we love them!!